Journey to Amestris: Crossing the Gate
by FullmetalOtaku209
Summary: As a girl burdened with living on her own on Earth. A vegetable father and no mother to speak of she gets a request on her laptop. As the girl who had been a fan of an anime called FMA she spirals into every fans dream; Amestris. What will come of the this and how will the characters we know and love react to the newcomer? How will this mysterious girls appearance change the plot?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist nor do I own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood they belong to their respected owners and Hiromu Arikawa. All characters and plot line involved in this fanfiction from FMA or FMAB are not mine. **

**Chapter 1: Transfer**

"Oh whatever!" She shouted at her laptop in frustration and threw her arms up in defeat.

Whatever internet you win, or at least until she got something to drink.

She walked down stairs and grabbed a bottle of water. She just wanted to finish the last episode of FMAB but no, the Wi-Fi just had to crap out. She proceeded to the basement to whisper sweet nothings to her router and reset it.

After the router light blinked green once more the girl hurtled herself up the stairs to her room, where her laptop resided. As she reached it she was met with a blue screen and the phrase:

[REQUEST_GATEWAY_TRUTH_OPEN-Error Code: 1915]

Request Gateway truth open? Huh. Sounds like something straight out of Fullmetal Alchemist. Then. A sudden ripping pain tore its way through her being and she collapsed onto her bed.

When she woke up she was lying at the base of a giant stone wall with weird religious like symbols and what looked to be a tree. As she took a moment to inspect the monstrosity further from her position on the ground, it became clear.

Request to open the Gateway of Truth. The pain ripping through her body. The gate.

Was she in Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood's very own, actual, gate of Truth?

Suddenly she heard a voice behind her:

"Would you like to cross the gate and venture into Amestris?"

She didn't know what to say, everything was happening so quickly and her brain was still attempting to comprehend everything. Her mom was the only thing she had ever really cared about but she had died years ago. After her mother passed, her father fell into ruin, gambling, drinking and drugs. He went from '#1 Best Dad' mug worthy, to street trash. She knew how to fight, but that's only because she'd practically had to steal everything she owned, other than the necklace she always wore; it had been a gift from her mother. She was suddenly bitter, her mother was gone, the father she loved was gone, she had used and abused by everybody around her and all she wanted was to run away somewhere, far, far away.

"Yes."

The answer came out before she could think twice.

She didn't regret it, but she thought about the toll. Even then, regret was never present, only slight fear.

The toll, what would she lose?

Suddenly she heard a faint "Good Luck." and found herself being pulled down into a dark abyss. When she opened her eyes she stood in front of a mirror.

She suddenly saw movement at her feet and with a swift upward motion she realized she had just become a-.

She saw herself as she was broken down from the ground up and re-animated. All she could think about was Ed, and whether she'd actually meet him or not. Edward filled her vision and she closed her eyes, thinking of him helped to tame the burning sensation.

When she opened them, she was an anime character. Her clothing had changed, and she though that her new look was amazing. She had never really had the money, but now, the outfit she had on was made of high quality stuff. Dark brown boots, dark brown pants, a leather belt, an extremely light pink dress shirt and a dark brown trench coat. She had a hairstyle just like Edward's but darker and she even had the little hair that sticks up. She had to admit, she was loving this, but she couldn't shake her worry at just what she'd given up to cross over.

Suddenly the mirror disappeared and the gate reappeared in its place. It opened and then the dark arms took her.

When she woke up she was being carried by someone with eyes of blazing gold.

**A/N: Hey guys! What's up? Well I'm going to try to write chapters in advance so that I don't fall too far behind!**

**Edward: Hey. I hope you don't make me drink milk in this... *gets creepy look on face and transmutes arm into blade* or I might have to hurt you *heehee***

**Winry: Edward! Be nice and make sure you don't transmute my automail again! *throws wrench***

**?: Thank you so much for allowing me to come into Amestris!**

**Edward: Who the hell's that?**

**?: Nobody... *gets creepy fangirl look on face***

**Alphonse: Brother I'm scared! *Runs off***

**Edward & Winry: Please don't forget to Review! It encourages her to not put us into bad stories! Also expect some longer chapters if you do review!**

**All: Thank you for reading! See ya next time! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or FMAB. Although I wish I did.**

**I apologize if any characters seem OOC (out of character). So please **

**Chapter 2: Awakening**

She woke up to discover she was in a bedroom. She laid on a twin bed pushed against a wall, looking over to the wall straight in front of her she saw a closet with women's clothing inside. On the same wall there was a small desk with a wooden chair in front of it. When she looked to her left, she saw the wall the bed was against, at the end of the bed, there was a door that was slightly open so she could see into what looked like a small hallway. There was also a medium sized window on the wall opposite of the door and the bed which revealed a starlight sky.

"Oh, you're awake?" she heard a voice ask her.

"Yeah, what happened?" She inquired to the blonde before her. Her voice felt stale, like she hadn't talked in a while.

"Well, I was on my way into town when I saw you lying by the cemetery bleeding. So I picked you up and brought you back here so my friend could take a look at you." The teen said as a stern look crossed his face and he continued. "So might I ask how exactly you lost your left arm and leg?"

"What?" Then she looked down to see bandages where her left limbs should have been. So that was the toll, her left limbs, the things she used to survive were taken from the side where her heart was. The realization hit her like a bus, they were gone, this wasn't going to be fun and games, they weren't coming back. She felt herself tear up, but suppressed them and looked up at him.

"So? What the hell happened?" The boy asked, this time more forceful. But after noticing the look in her eyes, he settled down a bit.

"What year is it?" She suddenly burst out.

"Umm well it's 1912 just like it has been for like, the past six months." He said a but put off by her sudden urgency and inquiry.

Before she gave him any more time to interview her any further, she asked -or more like told him:

"Your name is Edward Elric and you were recently deemed the Fullmetal Alchemist. Correct? Your friends name is Winry Rockbell and this is her and her grandmother -Pinako Rockbell's automail shop. Well, am I right? Well? And before you think I'm crazy I just want to let you know that I know about what you've etched into your watch, among other things."

He just looked at her with a confused look while his mouth moved -almost of its own accord- and said "Who are you? Ho-How do you even...?"

"I will explain everything later -I swear but first I need Winry to install some ports and get me hooked up with some automail." She was on autopilot now, avoiding emotion. Emotion was bad, emotion hurt. Autopilot fixed that, she didn't have to think about it she just had to act.

"Okay." said the Fullmetal Alchemist as he turned away from the mysterious girl laying in his friends bed to retrieve Winry. All the while thinking about _how she knew what she knew_ and if she knew this much, _just how much did she know? _

"Winry, the girl's awake and she's asking for some automail. You might want to go talk to her." Edward told Winry half dazed, before mumbling something about finding his brother and walking out the door.

As soon as Winry heard his words she grabbed her medical kit and rushed to her room to check up on her newest and primary concern.

As she saw Winry come in she saw her take the wooden chair from the desk and sit it next to the bed, then she proceeded to change her bandages and she could not bring herself to look at where her limbs used to be.

"How did this happen?" Winry asked as her crystal blue eyes almost pierced right through the other girl's skin trying to pick up on why she was being so mysterious.

"Um. well I promise I'll tell you everything after I get some automail?" It had come out more like a question than a statement.

"Well the surgery is very expensive, not to mention painful, and it will most likely take two to three years for you to regain your strength so you should re-" Winry had been cut off by her patient.

"No. My mind is made up I need to move forward, my old life is gone and I need to regain the ability to stand up on my own two feet and walk forward."

"But that is the exact same reason friends exist. Geez you're just like Ed, I swear. When you have trouble walking on your own two legs you lean on them. If you cannot see the path that lies ahead, they help to guide you and even if you can't hear them they will still tell you that you can do it. So just wait until Ed and Granny get back so that I can confer with them and you to see the best course of action. And I swear that if you fidget again I will hit you so hard with my wrench you won't physically _be able_ to fidget for a very long time!"

All she could do was gulp and stare at this girl, Winry, with wide eyes as she continued on with her task.

"Oh I forgot to ask you about your name. What is it?" She momentarily stopped long enough to look at her and listen for her response.

"Trisha." Of course that was not her real name, but they didn't know that and she had a new look, a new life so a new name was fitting. Plus, as she thought about it, she couldn't really remember her old name. Things from her past were getting a bit fuzzy.

"Oh." Winry looked surprised and she kind of regretted taking their mother's name but she wanted to get close to them and now she felt really bad about it.

After a few more minutes of her checking things and neatening up the bandages she stood up packed up her things and quietly exited the room soon to be replaced by Edward and Pinako who stood beside the bed.

They looked out the window looking at how the sun was slowly painting the blackness to a beautiful backsplash of oranges, reds, and yellows against the warm green summer countryside.

Pinako took a moment to inspect her wounds and then stated: "We'll make you some automail." and then abruptly started walking out the door until Trisha stopped her.

"But I don't have any money to pay you-."

"Now stop right there child. I will do this free of charge because you need it and you aren't just doing it to get a look at my granddaughter or to get 'cooler' looking automail, so do not worry we'll take care of you so relax and rest up while we prepare your automail. The surgery will probably be later today or tomorrow, but it'll take a little over three days to fix your actual automail."

She spent the next few hours sleeping until she heard a loud knock on the door and gave a groggily replied "Come on in." and sat up against the wooden headboard to see Winry come in.

"We're going to do the prep work for the surgery now so hold tight."

After several minutes she was wheeled to another room with walls lined with different tools and a large table with a sheet covering it. A rolling tray with medical tools on it was beside the large table.

After she was placed on the table and they were ready to start Edward excused himself saying something about bad memories and exited the room. Winry turned to me and said seven words with a grim expression "Brace yourself. This is gonna be painful."

Then it started, and it was the most painful thing anybody could ever imagine. They had to move quickly so that she didn't go into complete shock and pass out before they could attach _her_ nerves to the _steel_ nerves inside the port because if she passed out the nerves would retract and it would be very difficult. Due to their having to work quickly they weren't exactly the gentlest. Winry's eyes kept flicking to her face from her position beside Trisha with a look of guilt.

As they ripped the recently scabbed over flesh of her limbs open to attempt the nerve-port connection it felt as if a thousand needles were converging upon her skin and it became progressively more difficult to hold in her screams of pain. They then molded the metal into her flesh with a red hot melder. Then after that they welded the metal stitching on her nerves into the metal connectors and then rapidly cooled them by pouring ice onto the metal of the port. They then attached the ports to temporary automail until her measurements and permanent automail were finalized.

They worked in sync through the entire process working swiftly and quickly. In her head it had taken hours upon hours, but in reality the whole procedure had only taken about twenty minutes.

After the procedure she was taken to her room, by the time everything was over it was almost one in the morning. She almost instantly fell asleep.

When she woke up Edward and Alphonse -suit of armor and all- walked into her room. Edward took a seat while Alphonse stood next to him.

"Okay you're going to tell us everything you know." Edward said grimly.

"Of course but I have a few questions about when we are."

"Okay, ask away."

"I will, and then I'll tell you everything."

**A/N: DUN DUN DUUUUUUUN! Okay so this chapter is pretty long due to my lack of frequency when updating. So I am asking you to please please please review? Also please inform me if anybody seems OOC I want to remain semi-accurate in this fanfic. Also I am going to recommend a story on here because it is by far the funniest and best FMA Fanfic I've ever read it is written by Hangonsilvergirl and is titled: It's Not a Big Deal. So please check it out I promise you won't regret it. Also the layout of the bedroom Trisha is staying in is just as you see it in Brotherhood. It is Winry's room. Also what do you think Trisha's last name should be? Alrec? I don't know and I need a little bit of help deciding. Also to prompt some reviews and PMs I'm going to ask some FMA related questions so I can also better know my absolutely fabulous readers! Today I'll ask TWO questions:**

**1: Top Pairings? Edwin? Royed? Royai? Almei? What's your preference?**

**AND...**

**2: Top five favorite characters in the entire Brotherhood Series and if possible, reasons why you like them so much. **

**I'll be posting my answers next chapter so please stick around because I promise once this story really gets started it'll only get better! (which will be soon!) XD**

**Edward: Shut up! Just get on with it and start the next chapter! And tell us if you want me to be with Winry or Trisha?**

**Winry: *blushes like crazy* Edward!**

**Edward: What it's just a question! Wait no please don't hurt me...ah!**

**Winry: Okay so that concludes this chapter and its super long authors note.**

**Pinako: Yeah no kidding.**

**Me: Hey! Well they're right so without further ado I will close this chapter up! Please Review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not, sadly, own FMA or anything else affiliated with it. The only things that are mine are all details not originating from FMA. **

**PLEASE ENJOY.**

**Chapter 3: Epiphany **

_"Okay you're going to tell us everything you know." Edward said grimly._

_"Of course but I have a few questions about when, we are."_

_"Okay ask away."_

_"I will, and then I'll tell you everything."_

* * *

><p>"Okay, so from what I gather, you came here due to your automail and your brothers' body being completely destroyed from Scar attacking you. And Armstrong is here. Right?" She inquired to the boys in front of her.<p>

"Yeah. So are you going to tell us what we want to know or what?" Said the short tempered blonde before her.

"Well. Some things you will have to learn on your own, but I'll try to explain it to the best of my abilities. I am from a place called Earth. A different reality. It is one hundred years more advanced both in science and technology, which I guess are pretty much the same thing... but I have lived a pretty hard life. My dad is a drug addict and my mom died when I was little. After mom passed way, my dad lost it. My dad, he used to..."

She paused before going on.

"Burn me with his cigarettes and after a while, he started abusing me even more. I have lived almost my entire life stealing just to survive. In my world, and this is where it will get confusing, there is a story named Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. In which a pair of golden haired brothers are quite skilled in Alchemy but sadly lose their mother. They then go to a woman named Izumi Curtis who's a 'typical housewife' who sends them to an island with the pretenses that 'One is All, and All is one'. But they then return home to attempt, and fail a human transmutation on their mother. The story is about how after losing almost everything they travel in search of the Philosophers Stone to attempt to regain what was lost. The story of two brothers. Alphonse and Edward Elric."

Edward motioned like he was going to say something.

She held up her hand to signal she was almost done.

"Let me finish then I'll try to answer your questions as best I can. So after becoming such a big fan of this story I received a request and before I knew it I was transported to the Gate and spit out here in Risembool. I know everything about your journey. I also know how your story ends up. There are some things I cannot tell you because you have to learn them on your own. But I will try to help you I really will. You can trust me."

"Okay, I know you probably weren't expecting this but I for one, believe you." Edward spoke slowly, allowing his brain to play catch-up with all the new information.

"Yeah, I do to." Al chimed in.

"Oh..really?" She asked, actually quite surprised at them trusting and believing her.

"Okay well. Do you know any alchemy?" Edward asked.

"No but I really would love to learn. I have a theory, with my meeting truth I can most likely perform Alchemy without a matrix." She said.

"Yeah I was thinking the same thing, Oh!" He yelled suddenly.

"I completely forgot to ask _your_ name. What is it?" Edward said, the serious look that covered his features just moments ago vanished, leaving a semi crooked smile in their place.

"Trisha. Trisha Alrec."

"Really? Well, that's a nice name." murmured Alphonse quietly, his glance resting upon his steel legs.

"Thank you, I guess." She just then realized that they probably knew that wasn't her real name, and that added to the guilt she already had. But there was no turning back now. For the life of her she couldn't remember her real name. Trisha sounded like it'd been her real name her whole life, but she knew it couldn't have been.

Edward's gaze shifted to his lap for a moment before glancing at her through his bangs, he then stood up and walked over to the small window.

"So, you wanna learn alchemy?" Ed said, a sudden and fake looking grin filling his features.

"Yeah!" A genuine smile adorned her lips as she replied.

"Are you going to teach me?" She followed up her previous statement.

"Sure. But first you have to recover. We have to go back to central as soon as possible so..." Edward said his eyes trailing back to the window again.

"I'm coming with you, so just wait a little longer, I know what happens next and, I want to be there with you." She said.

"But your automail?" Alphonse inquired.

"For some reason my automail has been rapidly healing. I don't know why but that helps me out. " She said, investigating her automail port sites.

"Huh. Well, that's weird but, we'll give you a week. I'll train you a bit before we head out."

And with Edwards last response they quickly left the room leaving her to the dark stillness of the old space.

Well, might as well sleep.

What happened next she couldn't believe; as soon as she had closed her eyes she found herself at the gate. The mysterious and cocky truth staring at her.

"Why am I here? Are you sending me back?" Trisha asked, worried she would have to return to the hell hole she had only just clawed her way out of.

"No. I have to tell you something. It's only fair you be made aware of what else was taken from you. Along with your left limbs I took something else; your ability to dream." Truth sad as a smile spread across its' face.

"What? What do you mean 'My ability to dream'? Can I not set goals and dream like that or is my subconscious unable to process stuff through dreams?" Her sentence was choppy, her head a little fuzzy.

"The technical one. You can still set goals. That can't be taken away so easy. But in return I gave you something extraordinary; the ability to heal rapidly and, to heal others rapidly if you so choose." Truth spoke carefully, trying not to reveal too much about this, gift she had been given, if one could even call it a gift.

"How long have I been here in real time?" She asked, just wondering.

"Impatient? Or do you have a date? Well it doesn't matter just don't be surprised when all you see when you sleep is darkness. Good bye gate-crosser."

With that she was awake. She was kind of surprised but she wanted to test the whole rapid healing thing, so she decided she'd test the ability on her automail. She thought really hard about what Ed's arm looked like after years of healed automail and suddenly felt a twitching sensation in her limbs.

Trisha looked down and saw that her automail was fully bonded with her nerves. She decided to test it out with an attempt at a push up, because if she could successfully do one that meant it was healed properly.

She got down next to the bed and completed a push-up. And then another one; a stupid grin slapped to her face as she sweated her ass off doing sit-ups and push-ups and crunches and all sorts of other exercises. In fact, she was so entranced she didn't even notice the brother watching her through a crack in the door before she heard a:

"Knock, knock. Hope I'm not interrupting something?" He said gesturing to her being slopped against the bed, sweating and grinning. Man she must've looked like a psychopath.

"No. But, can you go grab Winry real fast? Or is she out?" She asked/panted.

"Yeah she's here, I'll go grab her." He said as they walked out; returning moments later with Winry.

"What are you doing Trisha? You're going to hurt yourself if you exercise too much too early!" said a worried Winry as she hurried over and bent over her left leg.

"But that's the thing. It's healed and so is my arm." I said with a smile still in place on my face.

"What? That's impossible it takes three years not three weeks, or more like days!" Winry said but then after a moment spoke again.

"Dear lord, you're right. They're almost completely healed. But how, that's impossible." She asked herself too surprised to really say all that much.

Trisha glanced up at Ed and smiled. The smile was returned after a look of a 'What the hell?' crossed his face.

She mouthed 'I'll explain later' to him and he nodded.

"Hey, since I'm all healed and stuff can we spar? I feel like I haven't moved in ages. I need to shake off the dust."

Edward looked to Winry for approval and after a moment she sighed and said "Be careful, don't damage my precious automail. In about an hour dinner will be ready just letting you know. Now go out there and teach this jerk a lesson." She said the last part to her.

"Oh I will." She said as Edward pulled her up from her position on the floor. He smirked and led her out of the room, as they walked towards the front she saw lots of pictures, on walls, leaning against things on shelves, it was nice and gave the place a happy feeling. She wanted to just stand there and admire everything but remembered the sparring thing she had with Ed and her excitement knew no bounds.

They made our way to the front and there was a large space right off of the porch that was void of any grass so they stood there, about eight feet away from each other.

"Are you ready to get beaten, little girl?" Edward taunted.

She looked around confused and then said "Oh you must have been talking to yourself again, because the only little girl getting beaten is you!" She said the last words and he came flying at her.

He tried punching her with his right arm, but instead of him hitting her, she grabbed his arm and used both her hands for leverage to jump from the ground onto his arm, then simply stepped onto his shoulder to the space behind him. He was fast though, he turned around quick in an attempt to kick her with his right leg but she blocked it with her left arm and grabbed his leg with her right, flipping him on his back in the dirt. She quickly climbed over top of him and straddled his lap, clearly stating her victory.

"Geez, brother you got beaten so easily by a girl." Al said while giggling. He had come out during the fight and had seen her thoroughly kick Ed's ass, but neither of them knew he was there until he spoke.

She climbed off of Ed and helped him up, then beckoned Al to walk over, he did and she motioned for both of them to stay there with a smile playing on her lips.

She ran into the house and found Winry in the kitchen, she asked her for the supplies she was going to need and she told her where to find some, a confused look on her face as she pointed Trisha in the right direction.

The girl gathered what she needed and headed out to the front where the brothers were waiting for her. She ran up to them, holding up the items she had recently procured from Winry's automail workbench. In her left hand, she held two bandanas a red and black bandana along with a bandana with kittens all over it. In her right hand, she held a blue and white bandana.

All they could do was look at her, confusion clear on their faces. She explained to them the rules, you stick the bandana in your waistband, or loincloth band, and whoever grabs somebody else's first, wins the game. Also NO alchemy. Just good old fun and games, like when they were kids.

They stood in a misshapen triangle and when she was finished tucking her bandana into the left side of her pants she looked to see that Ed had tucked his into his right side along with Al.

"Alright, and, START!" She shouted the last word quickly and charged at Alphonse.

She jumped at his right side, but he was quick regardless of his armor, he spun around just in time to see Edward lunging towards her. Al quickly side stepped, and she only just had enough time to drop to the ground and attempt to get Ed off of his quick feet. He jumped over her sweeping legs, and spun around, his automail leg was met with Al's armor arm. She got to her feet and Al tried to get Ed by kicking him in the side.

Ed held onto his Al's leg as his leg kept swinging around, until he had done a full 360 around Al, then he let go, when he did he was thrown back a few feet, he used this momentum to do a half-hearted backflip and get behind her. He took hold of her arms, pinning them behind her back, and spun her around until she was facing him then put her on the ground, straddled her and put her arms above her head; keeping them pinned with his right arm, while he used his left to cross over and get her bandana.

He got off of her and helped her stand up. A grin now on his face as he waved her bandana in her face.

"Ha! I guess your skill couldn't keep up with the promises your mouth made! Could it?" He continued to flaunt his victory in her face, after a minute more of his mockery Al started giggling. They both stopped and looked at him out of inquisitiveness at his sudden laughter.

"I haven't seen brother so carefree in a long time, we haven't played together like this or been treated like this since we were kids and before I lost my body."

After hearing his words, she swore if he had a body he'd be smiling. It had a metallic ring but his laugh sounded like that of a small child. She was overcome with a sudden sorrow.

"Yeah, remember how we'd play that one game with mom?" Ed asked Al with a look of remembrance on his face, he was recalling a truly great memory. The expression on his face and in his eyes is something she couldn't explain. She never saw anything even close to it in the show. Edward appeared truly happy in that moment he recalled his mother. It made her want to cry, how sweet these boys were and they lost everything, she just wanted to bawl her eyes out; because she know that they wouldn't.

"Yeah, the one she'd play with us in summer, we'd go out at night to watch the fireflies and see who'd catch the most. Then at the end we'd put all the ones we caught in a jar. Mom would tell us stories about what the fireflies lives were like. Stories of magic and splendor, then when we were about to go inside we would release all of the fireflies." Al said, she could imagine him, back in his body looking so happy watching the fireflies and feeling the night summer breeze against his skin. She could feel herself tearing up when Edward picked up where Al had left off.

"Yeah, I remember sometimes she'd sing about them and then Al would sing with her, take it he wasn't very good!" He laughed good-naturedly and looked over at her with a big smile. They were standing next to each other and Al was laughing softly at his past self's attempt at singing.

"Wait Trish, what's wr-"

She caught him in a hug, she brought Alphonse in too. She was crying silently as she hugged them.

"Hey what's this about? Come on stop it with the crying. Geez." Edward said as he tried to make her stop the tears that freely fell from her eyes.

"You poor boys, you've lost so much, you haven't had the proper time to be kids, to cry, to maintain any innocence. It's okay to cry, nobody's going to judge you, so for this moment let me cry for you and if you feel like it then you cry too. Because it's okay. I'm here and as long as I stay here you don't have to keep your tears at bay anymore."

Edward and Alphonse then wrapped their arms around her and held her just a little bit closer. Edward had his head held low so his eyes were covered but she could see his strong guise slip for a moment, and a tear make its' way into the dry dirt below them. Alphonse may have not had a body, but he was crying too. He quietly let out small sobs, as his armor body slightly trembled.

Trisha only heard one thing from Edward.

"I miss mom."

She hugged him tighter and they stayed like that for a little longer until they saw the sun setting. She broke away and wiped the tears from my eyes, then walked over to the grass in the front and plopped down and laid her head down in the grass. Edward and Alphonse did the same laying down in the grass on either side of her.

"So I guess your brother really does have a _short_ temper doesn't he?" She asked Alphonse as looked sideways at his brother she drew out the word 'short' and watched as he reached for her. She popped up and backed away as she beckoned for Alphonse to follow.

He did so, seeing the mischievous look in her eyes. She led him to the porch and told him the plan just in time for Ed to reach them. She began to run from Ed.

"Hey wait up! Get back here, you'll pay for calling me a tiny little pipsqueak!" Edward said as he chased after her.

"Well we're now playing tag and you're it! If you can catch me, I'll say sorry! Al's playing too!" She said as she sped up and then she saw a patch of woods up ahead and ran turning left sharply and climbing up the nearest tree. She saw as Ed entered shortly after and he looked around very confused as to where she could have gone. He turned around as she called, "Hey, shorty up here!" He looked to the tree she was in, smirked and charged it.

She quickly scampered down the tree and sped towards the house, going in zigzags she hoped that she had bought Al the time he needed. She sped towards the back of the house and dove into some bushes just in time to witness Ed run into the rope which held a bucket of a grotesque mixture of egg and oil. He was soaked in it, so Al and her looked to each other and came out from their hiding spots laughing. Edward then did something she didn't expect. He smirked and then, glomped both her and Al. They were now all covered in the gross goop.

Eew.

They all burst into laughter including Winry who had been there to witness the scene upon her and Al's request. After their fit of laughter Winry told them that dinner was ready and that she had made stew, while Armstrong had gone into town with Granny for an emergency automail issue. She still thought it was funny that the very loud and large Major still hadn't made his way to meet her yet. She was surprised she hadn't at least heard him in the small home.

They used the hose to clean off for the most part, it turned into a water fight soon though, but that was ended quickly by Winry throwing wenches at all _three_ of them. Damn, never underestimate the power of Winry and her wrench.

They went inside and ate while Winry and the boys asked her questions about little things like her favorite thing to eat and her favorite colors.

After everybody was finished eating Ed and Al excused themselves and retired to their rooms while she stayed and helped Winry clear everything off of the table and clean up.

After they finished she waved goodbye and said good-night but stopped when Winry grabbed her arm.

"Hey," She started, after a moment of gathering her thoughts she continued.

"I want to thank you." She said as she looked at her with watery eyes.

"You don't need to." Trisha said as she turned around completely to face her.

"Yes, I do. I haven't seen them that carefree since before their mom died. I've tried but I've never gotten them to open up to me in all these years, yet in a few days you have." She said as she took a seat at the table and cried.

"Again, there's no need. I love them, you know? I know _you love _Edward." She said, her voice was smooth but she couldn't help envy her and Ed's romantic connection. She didn't want to break the apart and she seriously doubted he'd ever like her as anything but _maybe_ a sister.

"Love? Edward? Oh stop joking!" She said as her voice cracked and she had an intense blush on her face now, tears still in her eyes but she was now mumbling excuses to her claims of her crush on Ed. She laughed and then regained a semi-serious expression.

"I just want them to know that they aren't alone in this fight. I'm going to go back with them to Central Command. We're going to need you to stay strong. Okay?" She asked her, looking into her eyes.

"If that's all I can do then I will. I'll stay strong for you, for Al and for Edward." She said as the look on her face turned from teary eyed to a look of determination as she wiped the traces of tears from her eyes and looked at her.

"Thank you, again, but this time for helping me out." She said and she gave her a smile that, before she knew it, had her smiling back.

"Good night, Winry." She said as she turned around, ready to walk to the room she was staying in.

"Good night, Trisha." She halted as she said those words, so many diverse emotions were woven between the letters. After a moment she smiled and went to her room, to be met with Truth.

"Oh yeah, I can't dream, can I? Forgot." She said as she looked around the white void she was occupying.

"Are you enjoying your time with Edward?" Truth asked a suggestive undertone to its' voice.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I am. Hey, since I'm going to be here frequently, I think, can you teach me alchemy?" She asked, generally curious.

"I cannot use alchemy myself, and there isn't any alchemic material in this void so I can only teach you the technicalities. Take a seat, let me slow down the time transfer." It took a moment and then spoke again. "Okay, done. What I did was make time slow down here. So let's say an hour is spent here. Now half an hour goes by in Amestris. So we have more time to work on your knowledge of alchemy." Truth said, it took its' time explaining. Making sure she understood the time difference.

For approximately would be the equivalent of nine hours in reality she learned the fundamentals of alchemy. She learned that in standard practice, Equivalent Exchange was separated into two parts:

**The Law of Conservation of Mass**, which states that energy and matter can neither be created from nothing nor destroyed to the point of elemental nonexistence. In other words, to create an object weighing one kilogram, at least one kilogram of material is necessary and destroying an object weighing one kilogram would reduce it to a set of parts, the sum of which would weigh one kilogram.

**The Law of Natural Providence**, which states that an object or material made of a particular substance or element can only be transmuted into another object with the same basic makeup and properties of that initial material. In other words, an object or material made mostly of water can only be transmuted into another object with the attributes of water.

She also learned about rebounds. Since the alchemical forces being manipulated are not human in origin, but of the world as a whole, the consequences for attempting to bypass the Law of Equivalent Exchange in transmutation are not merely failure and termination. When too much is attempted out of too little, what occurs is called a Rebound, in which the alchemical forces that are thrown out of balance on either side of the equation fluctuate wildly of their own accord in order to stabilize themselves - taking or giving more than was intended in often unpredictable and catastrophic ways such as accidental mutation, serious injury or death. Like with Edward and Alphonse, they tried to take too much for WAY too little, so the alchemical transmutation rebounded.

She learned about the transmutation circles and their importance.

Though no machine or equipment is needed to produce the energy necessary for transmutation, merely understanding the sequence of transmutation and the limitations of Equivalent Exchange is not enough. Just as the processes of "Construction, Deconstruction, Reconstruction" and "In order to gain, something of equal value must be lost in return" are cyclical concepts, the circle itself is the foundation of alchemy. In order to begin an alchemical transmutation, a symbol called a Transmutation Circle is necessary. A Transmutation Circle can either be drawn on the spot when a transmutation is necessary (in chalk, pencil, ink, paint, blood or even traced in dirt) or permanently etched or inscribed beforehand, but without it, transmutation is generally impossible and all Transmutation Circles are made up of two parts:

The circle itself is a conduit which focuses and directs the flow of power, tapping into the energies that already exist within the earth and matter. It represents the cycle like flow of the world's energies and phenomena and turns that power to easily manipulative energy for transmutation.

Inside the circle are specific alchemical runes. These runes vary widely based on ancient alchemical studies, texts and experimentation, but correspond to a different form of energy, allowing the energy that is focused within the circle to be released in the way most conducive to the alchemist's desired effect. In basic alchemy, these runes will often take the form of triangles (which, when positioned differently, can represent the elements of either water, earth, fire or air), but will often be composed of varying polygons built from different triangles. For example: the hexagram is a commonly used base rune in Transmutation Circles because it creates eight multi-directional triangles when inscribed and can therefore represent all four classical elements at once. Other, more esoteric runes (including astrological symbols, symbolic images and varying lines of text) are prevalent and represent a multitude of other, specific functions for the alchemical energy that is released.

By the time Truth had taught her all of this her head was swimming. Truth moved for the first time and sat down directly in front of her, it reached its' hand out and touched her head. Her head immediately cleared and she felt refreshed. All of the knowledge she had just taken in she now understood very clearly; it was eerie this effect. Truth smiled at her and she blinked, suddenly it was far away again and it said:

"I bid you farewell, gate crossing alchemist. I will see you again soon." And with that, she woke up. The light shining through the small window informed her that it was morning and she got out of bed to discover a small pile of folded clothes on the chair beside the bed.

It was going going to be a long three days until they left for Central.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>

**Hey sorry I haven't updated in forever. I'll be trying from here on out to update every two to three weeks.**

**Thanks, as always, for reading! Please review! **

**Okay, now for the questions!**

**1: Do you prefer The original Fullmetal Alchemist (2003) or Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood?**

**2: If you could change one thing in the series (either one -2003 or Brotherhood) what would you change?**

**3: Anything special you want me to add into the story? If so review, review, review OR Private Message me!**

**Edward: I so would have beat your ass both times in reality!**

**Trisha: Nuh uh!**

**Me: Oh whatever! I need to upload this! It's 10:30 on a school night so say the line and shooosh!**

**Edward and Winry: Please keep reading! Please Review and Thank you for your support!**

**PM me with any requests or questions. Thank you again!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Chapter 4**

Chapter 4: Traveling

_"I bid you farewell, gate crossing alchemist. I will see you again soon." And with that, she woke up. The light shining through the small window informed her that it was morning and so she got out of bed to discover a small pile of folded clothes on the chair beside the bed. _

_This was going to be a long three days until they left for Central._

* * *

><p>Tomorrow they were going to leave for Central. Ed had taken it upon himself to teach her alchemy even though the Truth was already giving her lessons when she slept. So both in her sleeping and waking hours she was surrounded by alchemy. She hadn't told Ed about the Truth teaching her, not yet anyway.<p>

She told Ed that she 'mysteriously' knew a lot about it I just needed practice. So he took it upon himself to quiz her whenever he could.

"What's the first law of alchemy?" Ed said from outside my door while she got changed. She couldn't wait to get into central so that she could buy some clothes and stop borrowing from Winry.

She answered the question almost immediately, these little questions were second nature now.

"Equivalent Exchange, duh. Why ask such a simple question?" She said, ticked off that he'd ask something so simple, did he think she was stupid? Ah whatever. She was probably making something out of nothing.

They sparred at every opportunity now, she had a strong core but her body still needed a little work. She could recite all the fundamentals of alchemy, she'd memorized them. She could transmute small things flawlessly leaving no trace of transmutation marks. She could transmute bigger things as well, they were stable and sturdy, but probably shouldn't be given awards for best art or anything. She was definitely not as good as Ed and Al yet, but she was getting there.

"You done yet?" Ed asked from the hallway, annoyance beginning to show through in his voice.

She was pulled from her thoughts and answered a sloppy "Yes!" Before finishing brushing her hair and rushing to the door.

"Hey time for your final test, if you pass you can go to central, if you don't, well you know." Edward said as she had closed the door.

"Wait a minute, I thought that I was already going to central!" She half shouted at him, Pinako wasn't awake yet.

"Well, we need to know if you can fight and react to dangerous situations." He looked away and then beckoned for her to follow after him as he walked away.

Before she knew it they were in the back. Alphonse was standing and Ed stood next to him.

"Alright, fight us." Al said.

"Wait what!?" She asked, confused.

"If you can fight us with both alchemy and physical attacks, and at least come to a draw with us, we'll know that you can definitely fight with us." Edward said with a grin. This was like a game to him.

"Fine, I'll take you both on. And you know what? I'll _win. _It won't be a draw, I'll _win._ " She said with a look of determination. She backed up a bit and thanked herself for picking out a durable outfit from Winry's clothing.

Ed put his automail hand in the air and then brought it down to signal the start of the fight.

She immediately backed up several paces and put up a wall of rock, with alchemy. [Thanks for the high concentration of rock in the soil...geez] She made a decoy of herself and took a shrub nearby, she transmuted the water in it to hydrogen gas. She took that as cover and ran behind Al.

She took the clay earth beneath him and molded it into a hard, clay rope-structure. With Al's legs secured, for the time being, she had a narrow window to stop Ed's advancements. He had already transmuted his automail into a blade and had created a fist that he was riding on, to get higher than her.

She intercepted his structure, with her own and tripped him up. She went back to Al since he had gotten free and decided she'd take up another type of fighting style.

She started running to the woods, her plan already taking shape in her mind. She climbed a very tall tree and rigged her trap, picking a spot where she could activate it with ease, and look over were anybody would enter.

After a few moments, Ed came rushing in, flustered. She took this opportunity and caught him in her trap. It bound both his wrists and his legs with wood from surrounding trees, leaving him hanging upside down. He started thrashing about, screaming obscenities at her. Al came rushing in soon after. With Ed all tied up, she used the opportunity to go after Al, she slid between his legs then got up and kicked him in the back.

With Al now face down in the dirt and all the blood in Ed's body rushing to his head, she foresaw no opportunity for loss and yelled victoriously;

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow morning. I'll go pack after dinner, since you _obviously LOST_. "

She said the last part in giggles. She couldn't tell if Ed's face was so red due to embarrassment or due to the fact most of his blood was rushing there, since he was upside down.

"Okay, fine. I admit it, you won." He looked away towards some random trees.

"So can you maybe get off of Al, and help me down?" Ed said as he looked back towards her.

Al just laughed as she helped him up, she went over and untied Ed's binds. Forgetting that he was a good four feet off of the ground, upside down, he landed with a thud on his head.

_That _had to hurt.

"Geez Trish! Damn, that hurt!" Ed said, after he had recollected his thoughts and gotten some ice from Winry.

"I know! I said I'm sorry!" She shouted after putting some more ice on his head, not too gently. More like slamming the ice-pack into his skull.

Winry had made pasta for dinner, so they ate and turned in early. She packed her bags and turned in super early. If she didn't get enough sleep, she would be a devil in the morning. Plus, Truth should be waiting for her. So with that thought, she drifted into a very deep sleep. Unaware of what conversation the brothers were having across the hall.

*Meanwhile with the Elrics*

"Hey Brother?" Al sat up and faced Ed's bed, his armor creaking as he did so.

"Yeah, what is it?" Ed said as he turned on his side to face his brother.

"Why'd you let her win?" Al said, a suggestive facial expression, if you could call it that, made itself known in the steel of his armor.

"I have no idea what you're getting at, Al." Ed said as he flipped onto his back and stared at the ceiling.

"You know exactly what I mean. I'm not stupid brother, I know you intentionally got caught. She didn't exactly hide her trap." Al said with a glance at the door.

"Whatever, I hate to admit it but she actually beat us." Ed replied.

"Yeah, okay. Then explain why you 'accidentally' fell into that trap after looking straight at it. You were far enough away you could've avoided it if you wanted, but you didn't. Is it because you like her?" Al said as he made little hearts float around him. He drew out the word 'like'.

"It's not like that! Well it's just. I don't know, I just get this vibe from her, like. I don't know she belongs here. Y'know?" Ed said, a small blush on his face. He was now upright looking at his lap.

Al looked towards the window, then said "Yeah, I get what you mean, I can't explain it but I get this feeling like way back when with mom. Even her name makes me feel safe."

"Yeah," Ed said quietly.

After a moment Ed spoke again.

"Hey Al, there's something I've been wanting to ask you. I've too afraid to ask before now." Ed said as he laid back down and put his arm over his eyes.

"What is it?" Al asked eagerly.

"Well, um." Ed mumbled.

"Go on brother, say it." Al said, encouraging his brother.

"Well, do you blame me for what happened to your body? ...Do you _hate _me?" His voice dropped to a barely audible whisper.

"What?" Al said, taken aback by his brother's question. "I could never hate you! I could never blame you, even if I wanted to! Why do you always forget, that I was there, doing everything WITH you. I never backed down, I never said 'Hey Ed let's not do this' and you didn't force me into anything. If anyone should be blamed it would be both of us, we share the responsibility of that day." Al said, if he had had a body, he'd be out of breath from whisper-shouting at his brother.

"Really? You mean it?" Ed spoke in a breathless whisper.

"Yeah, I do." Al said, in confirmation.

"Thanks Al, I really mean it. I've been so afraid all this time and it turns out, it turns out, it was for nothing." As he spoke tears slid down his cheeks.

"Thank you, brother." Ed said.

"Hey, 'brother' is my thing! I might get mad if you steal that!" Al said.

They both started laughing, Edward laughed with relief at finally telling his brother his fear, and Al laughed with whole-hearted happiness that Ed finally shared an emotion with him.

Soon Edward fell asleep. Leaving Al to face the night with a cold steel body and a wide awake conscience.

They woke up early, moving in sluggish motions and talking in mumbles as they got ready to head out for the train, Winry had nagged them before supper last night to take care of their automail; she left a little can of oil next to their beds and then had said goodnight. When they were ready to leave, Armstrong, Armor and all, they headed out; the sun was just starting to rise. Winry was on the balcony waving as she called, "Make sure to come home soon, okay? Oh, and take care of your automail, I don't want to be making a service call out to Central anytime soon! Be careful." her voice dropped at the end and she smiled once more before returning to her room.

She wouldn't be coming to central very soon because Trisha had told her about the screw she had missed, thank goodness, now Ed could punch Envy's face in. She sniggered at the thought.

They reached the station and climbed aboard, soon after their journey started she fell asleep; on what, she might say, were the most uncomfortable seats known to Amestris. Seriously it was like sitting on a bunch of cinderblocks. Her back was killing her all through her nap.

She had completely forgotten about when she slept, she saw Truth. So when she opened her eyes to see a completely white _thing, _just kind of in front of her, she'll be honest, she jumped.

"Sorry, did I scare you? Ha ha, oh well. Well, I've taught you everything I can about alchemy, for the time being, anything more lies in the gate." Truth said as it plopped down in front of her, smiling warmly. Or as warmly as a seemingly emotionless entity could.

"You know what, I don't think you're so bad, Truth. Everybody hates you, but if they got to know you, you're actually pretty cool." She smiled at her new friend, who'd have known, that her LEAST favorite character (Well, not LEAST, but pretty far down there.) would become one of her closest friends in the world, so far.

"You may not want to become friends with me." Truth said, sadness thick and clear in the tone.

"It's because you have to follow rules right? You aren't the highest power; you just listen to the gate. Right? so if I were to do something, you couldn't just look the other way and could end up hurting me, is that it?" She said, uttering the words slowly, thinking the wording through.

"Yeah, you got it, you really ARE a smart girl, you know. But if you make a mistake I can't bend the rules. You might not think it but I can be replaced." Truth said as it looked down.

"Well, I'll still be your friend. If you want to be mine, that is." She said, meaning every word.

"I thought you might say that, well then Trisha we're friends." Truth said as it looked to its' lap and smiled.

"Well, now that that's out of the way. I wanna talk about the effects of the choices I've made. You don't have to REALLY do anything, but I have to ask. Do you know how this all ends?"

"Yes, and you have already changed a semi-significant event...or four." Truth said.

"I already know that Ed won't, well maybe, won't be in the hospital soon. Winry won't come to central or meet Hughes for a while. I know I can stop Al from thinking he's fake, and" she took a quick breath, "I want to stop Hughes's death, but I know I can fake it so that the major events that happen because of it still occur." she said, she looked to the Truth who seemed to be thinking.

"So what do you think?"

"It's possible, also what ending are you going for?" Truth asked, looking at me.

"One where Father dies, Greeling lives, Edward keeps his Alchemy and Hohenheim lives."

And the Truth spoke so silently, to itself but she just barely understood the words. They weren't meant for her to hear but she just couldn't help myself.

It said; "The way things were _supposed _to end."

Wait, SUPPOSED?

As in something went wrong during everything?

Could she really fix it? Could she save the ending?

A second later she played dumb,

"What did you say?" She asked feigning curiosity.

"Oh nothing." Truth responded, a little too quickly.

"Oh, okay. Hey how long has it been?" She asked.

"A little over two hours." Truth said back.

"Oh! Then I better head back! Nice seeing you again!" She said as she tapped on the gate and let the familiar hands drag her to consciousness.

She opened her eyes to see Ed sleeping up against Al, they were too cute, being all brotherly and such.

"Hey Trisha, have a good nap?" Al asked quietly when she sat up on the cinder block seat, ouch.

"Yeah, I figured some things out." She said, and smiled at him.

"Oh, cool." Al said awkwardly. To be honest the only person who could really keep the conversation going was Edward, and he was sleeping.

A couple minutes later Edward woke up.

"Welcome back." She said as he groggily pulled himself into a semi-sitting position.

"Yeah yeah, are we there yet?" Ed asked.

"No few more stops to go, sorry." She said, he looked worn out.

"Oh yeah, did you see Marcoh?" She asked suddenly remembering.

"Yeah, how'd you kn-wait, never mind. You already know" Ed said. Armstrong was staying surprisingly quiet in the booth next to us. Keeping watch...or something like that.

"So we're heading for Central Library First Branch, right?" She asked Al.

"Right." He said.

They arrived in Central a few hours later and headed straight for (What she already knew, was a burned heap of a building.) Central's First Branch Library.

Ross and Brosh were with them, naturally.

When they arrived Edward turned on her and took her by the collar.

"You knew this was going to happen! Didn't you!? DIDN"T YOU! The ONE lead we had and it's gone! Why? Why didn't you tell us? We could've left sooner, we could ha-."

"Because I can't, in order for me to save this country certain things have to happen, I have to be careful, I have to make sure certain things don't get too screwed up. And I'm sorry, I really am but if you get mad at me or stop being my friend in return for everybody surviving, I'd gladly take that, _any day._" She interrupted him.

Ross spoke up. "Ed, she seems to know what she's doing, let's see if we can make sure they were even in there."

He looked utterly defeated, so she said;

"There's hope you know. Sheska, a girl with absolute perfect memory, who's read his notes. They're written in code so you'll have to break the code, but I know she used to work here in the Library." She said, Ed looked up with new determination.

"Okay let's go find this _Sheska person._ Let's get those notes!" Ed and Al fist bumped and then ran towards Central Headquarters.

They now stood in front of Sheska's house, then she remembered that she was buried under all her books, "Oh crap! Sheska we're coming! Come on guys, she's buried alive in there!"

We all ran in the house and she knew were Sheska was, so she dived right in and started digging, Sheska then started screaming 'thank you's at us.

"Sheska it's all right, we just have a favor to ask of you, we'll give you money for it, of course. Then you'll be able to move your mom to a better hospital." Trisha said as she calmed her down and led her to a table that Ross had cleared off.

"If you give me a few days I could write them all down for you, I do remember them all." Sheska barely had time to finish before Edward was holding her hands, starry eyed.

"REALLY?! Thank you Sheska, you're the best!" Edward thanked her a bit more and then they left Sheska to her work. Weird how she didn't ask her how she knew about her mother.

Eh, whatever.

They stayed overnight a few days at a local dormitory, military of course. At first they had objected to her being in the same room since she was of the Female gender. Armstrong pulled a few strings and they got a room with three beds, that felt like heaven. It was times like this that she truly felt sorry for Al.

They got up early, they couldn't sleep with all of the excitement so Ed was fidgeting a lot.

Later on, we left by car for Sheska's. She was on the last few pages when we got there so they waited and then finally, the moment of truth.

"Okay, I'm all done. Recipe book complete!" Sheska stated cheerfully.

"And your certain this is a perfect recreation of the notes?" Ed asked as he scanned through them.

"Yup!" Sheska confirmed with a vigorous nod of the head.

"Okay then, Sheska you really are amazing, thanks." He took a piece of paper from his notebook scribbling something on it, then handed it to Ross with his pocket watch and he said, "Make sure that Sheska gets that amount, take it out of my research funds." He said as he headed out.

"Oh and thanks again!" He called as he slipped away.

The number was 4,000,000.00 Cenz. The amount was astonishing for a simple translation job.

_***Authors note: Remember money isn't exchanged in FMA like it is here; that may be equivalent to 400 or maybe 4,000 US Dollars. So I don't think that's too big a number. Reference Roy paying 10,000 Cenz just for a cart of flowers. ***_

After they stopped freaking out over how RICH Ed was she split from Ross and caught up to Ed who was another library to decipher the notes.

This wasn't going to be easy to handle, for her, or for them. They'll know that she knew about the main ingredient and they'd definitely be angry with her. She just hoped Ed didn't grow to hate her. So they spent the night there and she went out on a food run. When she came back she heard a; "Damn it!" from outside and she knew they'd cracked the code. Brosh and Ross stood up immediately and rushed in.

"Edward there's no sense in getting mad because you can't break i-"

"We did break it. We broke the code and decrypted the notes." Al cut in.

"Then why-" Brosh was also cut off.

"We found the main ingredient in the stone, Marcoh was right this is the devils research," Ed looked straight at Trisha, eyes burning.

"What is it?" Ross asked as she bent down to pick up some of the papers that had flown about the room.

Before Edward could answer she spoke, her voice breathless and just above a whisper.

"Human life. Multiple sacrifices for even one stone." She said, and with that Ed had this defeated look, it reminded her of the face he made in the show when Hughes dies and he keeps asking 'why him?'

Before she knew it she was crying. Ed was still looking straight into her eyes as he slumped down.

"I'm so sorry, I couldn't. I couldn't tell you. But remember you have to find the truth behind truths." She said, "I have to help, so I'll take you where you need to go, get ready for a fight."

After a heated argument with Ross and Brosh we were escorted by them to the fifth laboratory where Trisha told them to stay there.

"No, it is our duty to protect-."

"I know for a fact they can't die, there are forces in this world so powerful you can't even imagine and they all," She pointed to Ed and Al, " Don't want them to die. So stay here, I'll call for you if you're needed but if YOU go in you WILL die, and leave them all alone." The last part seemed to persuade her so she stayed there, insisting she'd keep watch.

She went inside with Ed but before that she made it a point to talk to Al.

"You know your brother would do anything for you right?" She asked Al.

"Of course! Why do you ask?" Al asked, curious.

"Just remember that, you'll need to for something that's going to happen to you. Don't let anybody tell you who you are, you are Alphonse Elric and I never lie." Okay only sometimes, but the kid needed it! So she said that and then jumped on his shoulders climbing in after Ed.

When they climbed in she remembered that there were traps and cautioned Ed to tread lightly, she had the idea to form a bridge just above the floor with stone from the walls to avoid pushing buttons on the ground.

After they were a good way into the tunnel they saw a lit up room with a giant transmutation circle, for the philosopher's stone.

They stepped in and Ed saw the blood stains on the circle, he backed away as realization hit him. Prisoners were constantly being _sacrificed_. He didn't have any time to dwell on that before they heard a voice call out;

"Well, what do we have here?"

They both turned just in time to dodge a suit of armor flying at them.

"Good skills, good, that means you won't die too quickly."

She knew this would be one hell of a fight.

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><p><em><strong>Author's Note: Sorry but I have to go do stuff so no character dialogue in the Authors Note. So REVIEW and FOLLOW, PLEASE! Love you all my loyal readers!<strong>_


	5. Chapter 5: Survive

**Chapter 5: Chapter 5: Survive**

**Authors Note: Okay, so I wanted to ask some questions regarding the story.**

**1: What do you think would happen if Nina did NOT die but Tucker did? The events that would be changed?**

**2: Should Trisha end up with Alphonse or somebody else? What events would this change?**

**Just wondering, continue on.**

Chapter 5: Survive

_"Well, what do we have here?" _

_They both turned just in time to dodge a suit of armor flying at them._

_"Good skills, good, that means you won't die too quickly." _

_She knew this would be one hell of a fight._

* * *

><p>She took a trick from Edward's book and transmuted her automail arm into a blade, he saw this and gave her a look resembling 'Hey, that's mine.' and she just kind of shrugged in response.<p>

"Automail arm, eh? Huh, no matter. My sword can cut through steel as well as flesh!"

"Oh yeah, good thing our mechanic's the best out there!" She flashed a smile at Ed and charged forward.

He flew at them, aiming to kill. This was her first life or death battle, and she was reacting quickly, dodging attacks and landing them with vigor that only an adrenaline blast could create.

She shouted over to Ed, "He's hollow, like Al. Be careful, our attacks wont slow him down unless we can cut the body in half." Not separating the brothers, but stopping their movement.

"You can try! But you'll never beat me!" Once again the big hunk of metal came flying at her, NOT Ed. 'Why me?' She thought.

"You haven't even introduced yourself yet, how rude." Ed said as he quickly lunged to help her dodge.

"Oh alright then, I'm known as number 48 in this place but before I was made into this, I was a serial killer known as the Slicer, I was quite notorious all around Central." He spoke with confidence, the light where his eyes should've been, burned with intensity.

He just kind of, stopped fighting while he introduced himself, he got all chibi and stated the last bit matter of factly nodding.

"Yeah, and that transmutation circle," She pointed at the one spread over the floor with bloodstains, "was used to create philosopher's stones from the prisoners right? And probably slap your soul to that steel, am I right?"

"Listen kid, I don't know who you are but you sure did figure out a lot just by looking at a transmutation circle. But yes, you're correct I am one of the prisoners who were transmuted. Known as the Slicer." He motioned toward himself and bowed slightly.

"You aren't telling us everything." She said.

"What ever do you mean?" 'Slicer' asked, feigning curiosity.

"What do you mean, Trish?" Ed turned to her.

"I mean, this guy's lying. It wasn't one single man. It was a _pair of brothers _who were known as the Slicer. You wouldn't know that since you weren't even born yet but he's trying to trick us," She looked at the armor in front of her. "You can talk you know, I won't bite. I might chip a tooth biting that hunk of metal." She said, speaking to the brother.

No response.

"What do you mean? There was only ever one Slicer." The Slicer stated.

"Oh really? So you're saying if we cut your head off we won't find two blood seals? Okay, then let's see! Come on Ed!" She lunged forward Ed right by her side, blades outstretched as they finally got him, cutting the head clean off of their opponent's shoulders.

"Okay, I admit you've done well. Surprising seeing as how small you are." His eyes went to Ed, the torso was still unmoving. So he was still trying to pass it off as if he was the only one. Or maybe there was actually only one and things were different here. She quickly shook off the thought.

"Who are you calling a tiny little pipsqueak!?" Ed yelled back at the armor

"Trisha, are you sure? I mean the guy hasn't moved at all." Ed said to me as he started to ignore the armor's insults.

She walked over to the armor torso and kicked it, the eyes the glowed inside the armor head were blazing. She kicked again, same response.

"What are you doing?" The Slicer finally asked.

"Trying to get you to respond to SOMETHING. If this part of you can't move then you've lost. Tell us everything, who created the philosopher's stone here. Why? What? Tell us!" She ran up and grabbed the head, lifting it to her eye level and placing her sword over his bloodseal, slightly touching it.

"So you're saying," She poked his blood seal.

"If we look right over there we wont find one of these? Okay then, Ed would you mind looking in that body of scrap?" Her eyes never left the Slicer's.

"Sure." He walked up and crouched so he could just see inside the armor. At that moment the torso moved. It sat bolt upright and grabbed Edward by the neck holding the blade that had been discarded before. Ed was being held hostage by an empty suit of armor.

Ed and her locked eyes. She made a motion suggesting she move forward. He, very slightly, shook his head side to side. Then he smiled, a small shy smile as if he were saying, _'Al would kill me if anything happened so I got this.'_

He took a breath and waited.

"Shaking in your boots huh alchemist? You're trembling you know, brother the alchemist is trembl-!"

Ed swiftly let his body go slack, dropping to the ground, he then spun around and cut the armor torso in half swiftly with his transmuted automail blade. The pieces fell to the ground as Ed backed up and stepped in front of her, shielding her from the armor; as if it was coming back.

She looked back to head as she heard a soft sigh.

"Well, I'm sorry brother but we've been defeated. Kill us, go on." The Slicer said.

"No. We want you to answer our questions first, and quickly somebody should be here soon." She said as she started walking behind a pillar, motioning for Ed to do the same with the brother.

As Ed appeared behind the pillar, he plopped the brother down and sat down facing her and the head.

"Tell us, answer our questions. I know you know." She said, her attention solely on the slicers for the moment.

"Why don't you just kill us?" The body asked.

"We know someone like you on the outside, if we killed you just because you're armor it would be like killing him." Ed said hastily. She was trying to hurry, Lust and Envy should be here soon, right? She might have knocked the time back or forward a bit. Damn, she didn't know.

He laughed and said he couldn't believe he was being treated like a human being, he then conceited to answer our questions.

"We weren't given that many details. There is a group of beings, Homunculi that have a plan- wait no its this 'Father' person that does the planning. Father created the Homunculi. They plan to make the entire country into a philosophers stone, inside this "Father" person. Ishval, was their doing. The want to sacrifice people, they mentioned a housewife and several others for sacrifice. They want to use them and all the people to open this planet's 'Gateway' or something. But that's all we know. Also the one who you call Fuhrer is a Homuncul-."

All of a sudden Lust appeared spearing the head, and cutting her arm, the flesh one.

"You stupid fool! You just spilled the whole plan!" She then turned to the torso and called "Envy!" as Envy suddenly appeared, the sword in hand.

"How ya doin' there pipsqueak?" Envy got in Ed's face, Ed went to punch him but Envy jumped back, joining Lust's side. She held her arm as she watched Lust sashay her way over and bend down. She then felt a piercing pain in her chest, the bitch had stabbed her with one of her freaky fingers. She was bleeding out.

"Trisha!" Edward got up and rushed to her side as she fell, clutching her heart, to the ground. He slid under her just in time to catch her in his lap.

"I'm fine. Just give me a minute, you'll see. Don't die." She said as she struggled to stay conscious.

"What? No! You're bleeding. Stay here, oh god. Just stay here! Don't die!" Ed was on the verge of a breakdown as he turned and frantically looked for a way to help her.

She urged my wound to close faster, but to no avail. It was going to take a minute.

She saw as Envy started walking up behind Edward. Oh truth, they were going to kill him! "No!"

She screamed in defiance as she raised herself up and lunged at Envy, quicker than she'd ever moved before, effectively slicing the arm he had outstretched toward Edward and shielding Ed. One leg buckled so she just clutched her side as she kneeled in front of him.

"Move aside you runt, you should be dead!" Envy then kicked her in the stomach, but she was stubborn. She didn't move.

"Yeah, but I'm not. What about that?" Her wound had closed but a dull ache remained.

"You little-are you mocking me!?" Lust lunged forward, stopping Envy.

"Wait, her wound's closed. Father might make use of her, let's leave them. I doubt they understood the fool anyway." With a flip of her hair she left. Envy gave a hesitant look behind him then ran to catch up with Lust.

"Oh wait, I forgot." He then sliced the armor torso in half. Releasing the soul inside, it disappeared with a shriek and then they left.

"Oh thank Truth!" Ed said in exasperation when he helped her up a moment later. He did something totally unexpected, he cried. He didn't sob, it was silent. Tears silently made their way down his face and he looked at her, happiness in his eyes.

"You didn't leave me." Ed wiped his face and then gave her a small smile; it seemed as though he gave her a lot of those. She always thought his small smiles were the saddest. She returned it and gave him a slap on the back.

"So now that we know all this, we have to get out and fast. Get your brother and stuff." She said quietly as she walked toward the hall they had come from.

Ed just followed silently, a look of determination set on his face.

As they reached outside, Alphonse was talking with Ross. Barry was nowhere in sight. She surveyed Al, he looked alright. She just hoped he didn't think he was fake. She always hated that part.

"Hey Al!" Edward ran up to his brother and was greeted with a "Brother! You're alright!" As Al ran to meet him.

"Oh you know me! Nothing can stop good ol' me!" He pointed his thumb at his chest and laughed, she heard a bit of nervousness laced into the laughter though. He looked at me and I gave a thumbs up and a smile, then walked over to them. She slapped Al's chestplate then gave him another smile. She slid her coat over the hole and bloodstain in her shirt, not wanting Alphonse to worry.

They walked to the cars while Ed told him about the fight, leaving out the details of the discussion they had with the Slicer. She had to take a seperate car because Al was too big for her to fit in the backseat with him and Ed.

As they reached the place they'd be staying, she kicked off her shoes and then started to take her shirt off, to inspect her recent injury.

"PUT YOUR SHIRT BACK ON!" Ed and Al said at the same time, or should she say, screamed. Ed threw his blanket at her while blushing and Al had run out of the room. She had a bra on underneath, geez. She put her shirt on and calmed Ed down, saying she'd forgotten they'd been sharing a room. She then gave his blanket back and retreated to the restroom.

She lifted her shirt and inspected the hole in her bra, there would be a small scar but it had healed for the most part. She thanked Truth and changed into her long sleep shirt, she walked out and found Al leaning against the end of her bed.

"Hey, how's it going?" She asked as she plopped down on the floor next to him.

"As good as it can be, I guess." He looked down at his armored hands.

"Your body doesn't let you sleep. Hey, how long before you told Ed you can't sleep?"

Al jumped at my question, "Uum, well, actually..."

Whenever she watched the anime and read the manga she always thought that Ed knew about Alphonse's inability to fall asleep. But now, seeing Al's reaction to her question, he might not know.

"Does he know?"

Al stayed quiet.

"I'm taking your silence as a yes. So you haven't told him? Huh." She said as she scooted next to him. She pressed her side up against his armor and closed her eyes.

"You're afraid of hurting him. You really are a good brother." With those words, Trisha fell asleep.

After Al detected even breathing he muttered, "I may not sleep, I may not feel the cold a blizzard brings; but one thing I can feel is the warmth of her soul, it isn't even warmth, it's a searing sensation. I almost feel as if I can sleep now. Thank you, thank you." And with that Al grabbed the blanket from Trisha's bed and covered her with it.

Morning dawned and Trisha woke with a start when Al moved to wake Ed.

"Oh, sorry if I woke you." Al spoke in a hushed metallic voice.

"No, it's okay. You waking Ed up?" She asked as she rubbed my eyes.

"Yeah." Al turned to wake his brother but she stopped him.

"Is it okay if I wake him?" An evil glint in her eyes as she thought of what to do to wake him up.

"Uh, sure." Al said, confused as she got up and made her way to Ed's cot.

Without any warning she jumped onto Ed and started furiously tickling him. She started at his abdomen and attacked his stomach.

His eyes snapped open as he tried in vain to detect what was going on around him. He saw Trisha and grabbed at her wrists, again, in vain.

"Damn it Trish, cut it out!" He yelled between sharp intakes of breath and laughter. Al looked on from the opposite wall, a hint of laughter in his illuminated eyes.

"Make me!" She said as she continued her assault on his stomach.

"Okay fine!" With that, he quickly turned her over so he was straddling her and attacked her stomach, she didn't have any energy left so all she could do was laugh and slap his hands weakly.

After about five minutes of the ticklish torture he got off her, smirking all the while.

"Come on, if the situation had been different you would've done it to me!" She called as she changed her shirt in the restroom. She had a pale blue blouse, black pants and black military boots. She brushed her hair and made sure her little hair antenna was good, then she exited the bathroom.

"Ready?" She asked.

"Ready." The brothers said at the same time.

"Okay, but before we head out we need to tell Al what happened inside the fifth lab." A grim look made its' way into her features as she said this.

"Yes, yes we do." Ed said.

And with that they told Alphonse Elric about Father and his plans for them all.

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><p><strong>Author's Note: Aaand scene! Sorry for not updating in a while! I know this isn't the best chapter but it'll have to do. So, I do hope you guys review AND answer questions! Love you all, and thank you so much for reading! XD Also, if you haven't already, check out 'It's Not a Big Deal' by Hangonsilvergirl. It's awesome! Thanks again!<strong>

**Edward: Yeah thanks!**

**Winry: I haven't been in it that much *pout***

**Al: It's okay Winry.**

**Trisha: Hey since it's spring break the author can update soon?**

**Me: I'll try!**

**Edward: Yeah, you better!**

**Winry: *evil look***

**Me: Okay before this gets violent...thanks! Thanks for reading!**

**Al: Please review, we really appreciate it.**

**Trisha: Hey, why do you write me so sadistically? **

**Me: Whatever do you mean?**

**Winry: Yeah Ed seems pretty mean in the Author's Note.**

**Edward: I'll show you mean! **

**Me: OKAY, so for real this is the end. Thanks, please review!**

**Next chapter is going to be a 'special' one. Prank war? Maybe.**

**Almost 3,000 words! Yay!**

**Aaaand Scene!**


	6. Chapter 6: Prank War Special 1

**Chapter 6: Chapter 6: Prank War Special 1**

**Thanks for sticking with me! Please review, it really helps me as a writer to know people's views and to get what you guys want. So please, review. Okay, onward with the fanfic!**

**This is based on the time during their travels. Elaboration on the details not in the regular story. Enjoy.**

**Chapter 6: Prank War-Special #1**

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><p>It was a cool night in the small town they had chosen to spend the night. Chilly, almost. Compared to the heat of Resembool, it was like a blizzard. Trisha shivered and cowered into her coat.<p>

"Why the hell am I so cold?" She admonished to herself.

"You need a blanket?" Alphonse asked as he looked up from his space on the floor.

"Actually, some shaver's cream should suffice." Trisha said as a grin broke out on her face. Mischievous of course.

"Shaver's Cream?" Alphonse asked, weirded out and confused by his friend's question.

"Yeah, you know, the lather guys put on their face before they shave. It's like soapy and stuff. I'm sure the Inn has some, maybe the old geezer who owns the place has some we could use..." She trailed off talking to no one in particular, her head then snapped to Al.

"So can you get me some? A mixing bowl's worth of it perhaps?" Trisha asked sweetly, innocence thick in her voice. Frankly, it creeped Al out.

He looked to his brother and saw his frame, slumped on his back, hand on his stomach; his shirt had ridden up, revealing his muscular scarred torso.

"I can try...I guess." Al said as he rose from his sitting position.

"Thanks Al, this'll be great!" She shout-whispered as she fist pumped the air, grinning like a fool.

Al left the room, leaving a very anxious and excited Trisha waiting on her bed. He walked down the hall and came to a staircase leading down. "The Innkeeper did say that if we needed anything, go to the room downstairs. There's only one." Alphonse repeated the words they'd heard earlier as he clunked down the stairs. The sounds of his armor body's footsteps bouncing around the entrance hall.

"Hello?" Said a man as he emerged from a small room, next to the entrance desk; if you could call it that, it was just a small wooden desk, nothing fancy.

"Sorry to wake you, my friend has a, um, request." Alphonse stated as he looked around, anywhere but the man he was talking to.

"Oh you didn't wake me; I was just finishing up some logs I'd been putting off. What does your friend need?" He looked up at Al, warmth clear in his hazel eyes.

"Sir, you wouldn't by any chance have any shaver's Cream, would you?" Al asked, finally looking at the man.

"Why sure, odd request though. One second I'll get a tub for you. Oh," The man turned around looking at Al, "My name's John Emerson. You can call me Emmit." with that he retreated to his room.

Al walked calmly back to the room, cream in hand; weird that guy had so much.

He gently knocked on the door to signal his re-entry and set the tub down next to Trisha's bed.

"Thanks Al, okay while I get this ready you look for something that would cause somebody to itch, like a feather or something." She trailed off as she scooped her hand into the tub, stirring it around with her fingers. Geez this stuff is gross, she thought to herself.

"Trisha?" Al called, voice staying low as to not wake his brother.

"Yeah?" She answered back.

"What are we doing?" Al questioned as he brought a piece of long ripped cloth to her.

She ran it gently across her arm, it started to feel itchy so she smiled. "Well, we're going to wake your brother up. With a prank, naturally. I'll put shaving cream on both his hands, then tickle his nose. He'll go to scratch his nose and get shaving cream all over his face. Then I'll take my water and tip it over the cracked open bathroom door. When he goes to wash off he'll get hit with ice cold water. It'll be great!" She said as she made her way to Ed, his arms were at his sides, making it easier. She placed a glop of shaver's cream on each of his hands, then signaled Al to come over with the cloth. She ran and put the water above the door and scurried back to Al, who was waiting patiently at his brother's head, cloth in armored hand.

"Okay, on the count of three you'll tickle him."

Al nodded excitedly.

"Okay."

"One, Two, Three!" At that, Al quickly moved the cloth lightly and quickly against Ed's nose. Finally, Ed reached up with his hand, getting cream all over his face. As he reached up with his automail hand to wipe off the mysterious substance, he just smeared it all over his face. His opened with a start, he sat up and blinked at Trisha. He then registered the situation.

"What the fuck?!" He admonished as he jumped out of bed and went over to Trisha, who was standing next to Al.

"Brother! Watch your language!" Al said. Then noticing his brother's tired expression mixed with an angry confused one, broke into a fit of giggles along with Trisha.

He ran over to them and took some cream off his face, placing it on each of theirs.

"What kind of human being wakes somebody up like that?" Edward said as he slapped Trisha on the arm and punched Al in the chest plate.

"Well you see. It's the beginning of something great!" Trisha said as she beamed at the both of them.

"Huh?" The brothers said in unison.

"It's the start, of a prank war!" She said as she jumped up and down.

"Oh, you don't wanna start with me. You'll end up getting beat real bad!" Ed said as he smirked and looked to his brother.

"Yeah, Ed was- _is_ known in Resembool to be THE prankster. It's tradition on Halloween somebody, or everybody gets pranked by Ed. You might wanna watch your back." Al said sheepishly.

"Oh she's not the only one that needs to watch out. You helped her!" Ed said as he poked his brother.

Trisha swore she thought Al had a facial expression, of utter terror.

"Please spare me! It was all her! She's scary brother!" Al said as he cowered, or tried to at least, behind his brother.

"Liar!" Trisha said as she gawked at the both of them.

"Temporary truce? Edward suddenly said as a grin spread across his face.

"What are you thinking?" Al asked.

"How about we all team up and prank that bastard Colonel?"

It was decided, they'd prank Roy.

"Okay, but I think I'll go wash this crap of my face." Ed said as he stood up. "Me too." Trisha said.

Ed made his way to the bathroom, Trisha a few steps behind him. He opened the door to have the coldest water EVER find its way to his head. And shoulders. And back. Yay.

He turned around with a look of pure rage. He then calmly went into the bathroom, washed his face and filled a glass with water.

As Trisha tried to stop the laughter Ed grabbed a small towel and dampened it. He exited the restroom, handed the towel to his brother then turned to Trisha.

"Here, let me help get you started." With that, he splashed the water in her face.

"Hey!"

"Payback's a bitch ain't it?" And with that Ed changed his sleep shirt and went to bed. A smile in place on his lips.

"Yeah, I guess it is." She wiped her face off, rinsed her face then clambered back to where Al was sitting.

"I'll sit with you until I fall asleep." She said as she leaned her head against his armor. Al doesn't know how long they were like that, at least an hour, until Trisha's breathing finally evened out. She was asleep. Al ran his fingers through her hair, he didn't really have anything else to do. He sat there until the sun came up, about three hours later. During the night Trisha had said one thing in her sleep.

"Mom."

Well, this should be interesting. Al thought.

At dawn, the Colonel would be on the receiving end of one of Ed's pranks. This would be good. Loud, but good.

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><p><strong>Author's Note: Prank War chapter! Just in time for April Fool's Day! And: Happy April Fool's Day!<strong>

**Thank you for reading, please review. Any suggestions for pranks? People you really want pranked? Please either PM me or leave a review, I really appreciate feedback guys!**

**As always, I love you guys for sticking with me on this story, but I want to hear from you! So please try to leave a review, even if it's something like 'This is awesome' or 'You could do better' or even 'This sucks'. I wanna know your thoughts! Any questions? PM me or review.**

**So please, follow, favorite, review and keep reading! I'm only getting started! Thanks again! **

**~FullmetalOtaku209~**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Chapter 7**

**I am an awful person. I promised you guys I would update sooner and stuff and then..I didn't! I am very sorry, I'll try to make this chapter extra awesome and update again. My close friend just moved so I've been dealing with that along with my dad being in and out of the hospital. So I will try to update sooner and be consistent. I've noticed my writing has gotten sloppy and for that, I truly apologize. Now, I hope you enjoy. :)**

**Chapter 7: Forward**

_"Ready?" She asked._

_"Ready." The brothers said at the same time._

_"Okay, but before we head out we need to tell Al what happened inside the fifth lab." A grim look made its' way into her features as she said this._

_"Yes, yes we do." Ed said.  
><em>

* * *

><p><em>And with that they told Alphonse Elric about Father and his plans for them all.<em>

"This is all so incredible! I can barely wrap my mind around all of this. Father? The homunculi? I don't know where to even start." Alphonse said as he took his armored head in his metal hands. Slowly shaking his head as he held it.

"I know. We barely believed it." Edward muttered as he stretched both of his arms above his head before falling back on the bed. He plopped his arm over his eyes and let out a sigh.

"Well, I didn't expect for us to find out so soon, but here we are." Trisha said as she yawned, still not quite all the way awake. "But, I'll tell you now, it's the truth." she added, hatred for the homunculi clear in her voice. She thought of the recent chain of events, oh shit. She had forgotten a vital person. And an event that, by her calculations, would have dramatic repercussions on the boys.

"Boys? We have to go." She gathered her jacket and sloppily slumped it onto her shoulders, eyes wide she looked to the pair of confused brothers in front of her.

"What? Why? What's wrong?" Edward said, a look of fear crossing his face as he stood up, suitcase in hand. His golden eyes searched hers for a meaning to her sudden outburst.

"We have to go to Hughes, right now. Right now, Move!" With that she was out the door, she ran down the rickety Inn stairs, as fast as her feet could take her; not concerned with the two boys who were stumbling after her. She tripped on the second to last step, she jumped down and pelted through the door. She threw the cash she had at the Innkeeper and ran down the street, pushing past people and muttering weak 'sorry' s as she continued on.

'Where should I go?' The command center, but, there's no knowing if he's there. His house? She didn't want to scare Gracia. She noticed the weather, it was coming to the time around Hughes' death. She needed to check something.

She made a quick decision and took a turn, heading towards the command center. She saw the white building as the distance closed it suddenly occurred to her, how was she even supposed to get in?

As soon as the guards saw the wild look in her eyes.

As soon as they saw the tears _silently_ falling because she didn't have enough oxygen in her body to scream.

As soon as they saw her, they wouldn't dare to let her into a military institution.

No way, no how.

She wiped the tears from her eyes, that she hadn't really noticed until she couldn't see straight. Why was she crying? She turned, rather violently, to see Edward skid to a halt as he reached her. He instantly reached out and pinned her by the shoulders to the wall she had been leaning against. He had a crazy look in his eyes as he stared at her expression. He noticed her tears.

"What the hell? What's happening?" Edward asked, insistence and worry both heavily present in his voice.

Al caught up, hanging back as he watched the exchange.

"Hughes, we have to hurry! Hughes! Hughes will-!"

"Trisha!" Edward interrupted her. He shook her and she seemed as though she had broken out of a trance.

"What about Hughes? What's wrong, what's happening?" Edward asked, this time he removed his hands and backed away as Trisha attempted to regain her composure. Her usual calm and friendly demeanor had dissipated and showed no signs of returning any time soon.

"It's okay. Just, we need to find him. Quickly and we need to find Roy. Wait, no. Scratch that." She tried to put together a coherent sentence as thoughts and calculations swirled in her head. _Hughes still needed to die._ It was a vital part of the story; it was a major component in the boys' mission. But, she didn't want him to die. Could she fix this? Oh Truth, please, give her strength.

Hughes was like the father she never had, and had always dreamed of having.

She drew in a long breath and closed her eyes. It wasn't going to be fun, but she had an idea.

"Sorry. Edward? Can you get us into the Command Center?"

They were surprised at her sudden change in disposition, her eyes opened; cleared and hardened. Her hands found their way to her hair and so she ran her long fingers through it. She turned and walked, in that way she did; her hips swayed gently as she straightened her posture and held her head up. Her sudden turn made her hair float up and drift a bit in the cool breeze, at that moment a strong beam of sunlight chose to break through the clouds. Her hair caught the light and glowed, resembling golden fire. It danced and she turned around. She stilled, then beamed at her two companions.

"I'm okay." She said softly, slowly, as if explaining something to a child. Then, her beaming smile changed to a soft smile as she closed her eyes and tilted her head ever so slightly. She turned around again and headed to the gates, beckoning Edward and Alphonse to follow.

They picked their chins up from off of the ground and followed after her, Ed flashed his pocket watch and they all entered onto the compound's grounds.

All Al could think of was just how beautiful she had looked. Her hair had looked as though it were made up of _golden flames _and she looked as though she could defeat anything. He knew he couldn't feel things in this metal prison, but he felt as though that fire he saw in her had sparked something inside his very soul. Not a physical sensation; but an emotional soulful response to her.

What was this feeling? He shook it off as they rounded the corner and Trisha ran into somebody. She fell onto her back and looked up at the ass who hadn't been looking where they were going. She saw a man, with rectangular glasses and short black hair look down at her.

"Hey! I'm so sorry about that!" He helped her up and then looked her up and down. "Thanks." she replied as she dusted her pants off and looked at him.

"Aren't you a little young to be here?" He said.

"I'm here with Fullmetal." She said casually.

"Edward's here! Fantastic! Hey Ed I see you're quite popular with the ladies, first your mechanic and now this young lady! Aren't you a player!" He grabbed Ed and pulled him into a headlock.

"Hey! Get the hell off of me, c'mon lemme go!" He said as he grabbed at **Hughes **and struggled to break out of his iron grasp.

"Aw sorry. It was nice seeing you boys but I've got work to do."

She held in her emotions as she saw the person she knew would be dying very soon.

"Wait, we actually stopped in to see you." Alphonse threw out steering the conversation in a serious direction.

"Oh yeah!" Edward let out, he turned to Trisha. "Wait, why are we here?" he muttered to her.

"We just need a few moments alone with him, I'll do the talking." She whispered back.

"Okay, are you sure? You didn't exactly look stable there." He said back. She nodded in response and then walked up to Hughes. She extended her hand, "Hello, it's a pleasure. My name is Trisha Alrec. I've heard a few things about you, Maes Hughes, right? We were wondering if you could spare a few minutes, we need to talk to you." She smiled as he took her hand.

"Well, look at how polite you are! No need to speak so formally with me little miss. Yeah, I'm sure I can spare a few. You're a lot more mild mannered than Ed!" He said as he smiled and turned to Ed, his smile changing to a smirk as he added the last bit.

"Yeah, his temper is almost as small as his stature." She let out a light laugh as she followed Hughes who had beckoned for them to follow him. He laughed then stayed silent the rest of the way.

"Uh, Hughes? Where the hell are we?" Ed asked, or more like yelled. Hughes had led them to an incredibly small room, no, more like a closet. They were currently in some sort of janitorial closet.

"Well you see, I don't exactly have an office at this headquarters, and since I don't feel like doing paperwork I'll have to lay low so Roy doesn't find me." He rubbed the back of his head as he smiled. A dim light hung above us and illuminated Al's armor. It smelled of must and oil in the small space, it reminded her of Winry's workshop.

"So, what's going on? You guys almost never come to me. Also, who exactly are you?" He turned to Trisha, his face took on a look of seriousness as his eyes searched hers.

Oh no, how was she going to explain this? Companion? Family? Friend? How was she going to do this? All of a sudden she could only see white. Truth had forced her into its' space and was standing in front of her. Truth's usual toothy smile was nowhere to be seen, instead a frown had set itself on the white figure's face.

"What's wrong? Why am I here? I have to get back! How long has it been?" All her questions were strung together as she worriedly looked at Truth.

"Trisha, my young traveler. You have come to a major point in the process of your time line alteration. This is a huge point; you know how important this figure is to the Elric brothers so tread carefully. I bid you good luck. This is a warning, one misstep and you could obliterate your chances of a happy ever after ending. That is all." Truth said as it drew closer.

"I know! What do I do?" She felt a pressure surround her and blinked, Truth was hugging her. _Hugging_ her.

"Truth?" Trisha squeaked.

"You will know, when you go back all will appear clear, this is all I can do, I apologize but my limitations are on a cosmic level."

"What?" Her voice came out breathy and she realized she had been holding it in. With that, she was flung into the gate and blinked her eyes open to see Ed and Hughes looking at her.

Her head didn't feel jumbled and one thing was crystal clear.

She closed her eyes once more before opening them to look into the Lt. Colonel's eyes.

She had to kill Maes Hughes.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: That's a wrap people! I hope you liked this chapter and I will probably update again next Friday or Saturday! What do you guys think that means? Is she gonna kill Hughes? Our sweet prankster Trisha? Who do you ship in this? What did you think of the crying angsty scene I threw in there? (That wasn't planned, mind you.) **

**What are some ideas you have? I'm encouraging you guys to review because that is the driving force of my writing. I'm serious, since there haven't been many reviewers that's why it takes me so long because I feel like nobody's reading this, so please...REVIEW! I love those of you who read this regardless if you Review, or Follow, or Favorite. I appreciate every single viewer!**

**Please, if you can though, try to Review!**

**Any Requests or Questions (Maybe Comments)? You can always Private Message me! I always respond, it may take me one or two days but I WILL get back to you. **

**What do you think of this chapter? Anybody OOC? Too Angsty? Does it need something?**

**Edward: Shut up, they just want the next chapter already! Geez.**

**Trisha: Oh Ed, you sure know how to treat a lady. **

**Alphonse: Yeah Brother, apologize!**

**Me: Wow, I don't think Al said 'Brother' this whole chapter! Whoa!**

**Alphonse: I don't say it THAT often!**

**Everybody but Al: ... You kinda do.**

**Alphonse: *Looks dejected* *Walks away***

**Edward: Quick before he finds a stray cat! *Runs after him***

**Winry: I guess I'll do the closing, Thanks for reading! Review!**

**Trisha: Yeah, what she said!**

**Everybody: Bye!**

**Edward: Damn it Al, get back here!**

**:)**


	8. Chapter 8: Seeking

**Chapter 8: Chapter 8: Seeking**

**A/N: Hey guys! I think I'll be able to crank this chapter out before/on my actual update schedule! Yay me. Us. Look at us, bein' awesome! I hope you enjoy this chapter, I'll try to keep the quality high and chapter long! :)**

Chapter 8: Seeking

_"What?" Her voice came out breathy and she realized she had been holding it in. With that, she was flung into the gate and blinked her eyes open to see Ed and Hughes looking at her. _

_Her head didn't feel jumbled and one thing was crystal clear. _

_She closed her eyes once more before opening them to look into the Lt. Colonel's eyes._

_She had to kill Maes Hughes._

* * *

><p>She let out a sigh, then started to explain to the best of her abilities.<p>

"Well, my name is Trisha Alrec and I'm in a situation similar to Ed's." She drew up her sleeve and gestured for him to look at her automail, she watched as his eyes drifted to her metallic arm, then he quickly met her gaze again.

"Wow, you've both been through a lot for how young you guys are. I suspect one of your legs is also automail, am I correct in thinking so? I could hear it when you took a step." Hughes finished, intertwining his fingers as his brow furrowed, a look of displeasure crossing his face. The thought of the younger generation having to suffer so much left a bad taste in his mouth. Hadn't they fought to prevent such suffering?

She nodded and rolled her pant leg up. "Ding ding, you got the prize." She said in a melancholy, defeated voice.

If she had been paying attention she would have noticed Al's reaction, she would have noticed as he stiffened. His visual disapproval and disturbed state due to the sound of her voice. He hadn't known at the time why exactly her voice bothered him.

Defeated? She hadn't meant to sound that pathetic.

Hughes stayed silent as she rolled her pant leg back down.

"Well, I didn't just come here to do a show and tell of my automail. I came to inform you of something." She looked at Ed, he nodded, signaling to her it was okay to tell him whatever. She nodded back.

She took the nanosecond of time she had and attempted to formulate an explanation.

First, analyze the situation you have placed the characters in.

The boys were already close with Hughes, not as close as they would be if Ed had landed himself in the hospital, but still. Envy would most likely find out about our being alive, talking with Hughes and still come after him. She assumed that Envy was still an asshole; no amount of messing with this timeline could turn him off of his sadistic ways.

Second, plot out how you change the story from the decisions you've already made alongside the situation you are in now. How will you get the ending you want?

She will still have to find out how exactly Envy and the Homunculi will decide to take him out. Will they stay true to the phonebooth incident? Probably not, Hughes won't be rushing to a phone booth anytime soon. She thought about it, how exactly was she supposed to find out what the enemy was planning?

Third, take action.

"Well, the sudden and dramatic change that occurred a few months back led me to Winry, Ed's mechanic. That's how we met, so some unnamed motives brought us to the conclusion that we should travel together. We came to warn you that if you find out anything of importance regarding strange happenings or things tied to these two scoundrels, keep it to yourself. Do not trust those around you. Nobody. The Fuhrer? No. Roy? No. If you find any shred of info that you wouldn't casually mention in a conversation or a report, then keep it to yourself. If you find something out, you may not even be able to trust us. Be careful. I'm sorry, but please," she paused, "please, just trust me on this!" She shouted the last section of her small speech, it was full of emotion as she noticed tears pricking her eyes, threatening to fall.

"Trisha?" Edward said, although it came out as a question. He looked at her worriedly.

"I'm fine. Just, yeah." She turned to Hughes, staring at him with wide round eyes.

"Okay." Hughes said as he let a large sigh escape his mouth, his hand rose to her head and patted her.

"Anything said by someone in such an emotional manner, with such earnest and raw emotion, can't be a lie. You must have your reasons for coming to me, and knowing Ed, you guys are probably in over your head, again. This must be important if you're telling me to be careful. So I'll lay low for now, and when the coast is clear then you just let me know." He beamed at the three of us then swiftly stood up.

"Damn it Hughes! I told you to turn in the report on Tucker by this afternoon!" They heard a voice call out from the hallway, sounding like Roy. Hughes just smiled again before giving a small wave and darting out the door. Shortly after we saw Roy run after him.

Tucker? She could have sworn that happened before she arrived. Trisha thought as she rose from her position on an old box. How odd. She stretched and extended a hand towards Ed, helping him up. Al joined them out in the small hallway. She decided to ask about Tucker.

"So, what do you guys know about a guy named Tucker?" She asked them cautiously.

"Tucker? Oh yeah! We know about him, actually we were going to check him out when we got back here, to Central, Colonel Bastard mentioned it." Ed answered, suddenly remembering him.

"So wait, how did your automail break then?" Trisha questioned, if Ed hadn't broken it after his depression over Nina and battle with Scar, then when?

"Well, we were on our way to Tucker's actually. But we got ambushed by this guy in glasses and didn't make it. He used a weird form of alchemy. We think that instead of destructing then reconstructing he stops at the stage of destruction. The military has dubbed him 'Scar' because of his face or something. But, he busted my arm." He replied, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

Oh? So things were different, even before her meddling started?

"What about the State Alchemist recertification thing? Wasn't Tucker due for inspection?" She asked, curiosity and confusion laced into her voice.

"No, they moved it back a couple of months, I think the inspection is coming up this next week, maybe. But they had to move it back because important alchemists like myself were out of commision." He smirked and gestured to himself as he spoke of the rescheduling.

"Actually, you shouldn't be so full of yourself Brother, it's only because you messed up and-" Alphonse wasn't given the opportunity to finish his sentence before Ed reacted.

"What do you mean, you're spewing non-sense Al!" A loud, nervous laugh left him as he looked at me, then quickly looked away.

"So anyway! Let's get going!" He was fast to change the subject as he turned on his heel and walked down the hallway, he shoved his hands into his pockets and sighed audibly.

"Yeah, I could go for some grub." Trisha said as she walked after him, lagging behind next to Alphonse.

"So wait, what exactly happened?" She whispered to Alphonse.

"Well, we were in the fight with Scar and Brother slipped on a rock. He face planted, and when he got back up Scar got to his arm." A faint metallic giggle could be heard from the Armor boy.

Trisha laughed lightly. So Ed was that clumsy? Wow.

"Hey guys, can we stop in to see the Colonel real fast?" She asked, loud enough for Ed to hear.

"What do you wanna see that jerk for?" Ed sneered.

"I just wanted to see if we could still check on the Tucker thing." Trisha replied.

"Well, we'll have to find _him_ first. He took off after Hughes so he could be anywhere. I do want to look into Tucker's research, it looks promising. The Sewing Life Alchemist, I can't wait to meet him." Edward spoke with such admiration of this alchemist, if only he knew the horrors about to transpire, he would be speaking with something much more vulgar than admiration in his voice.

When they finally tracked Colonel Mustang down Riza was forcing him to finish some paperwork that had been due earlier in the week. So they would have to wait until tomorrow to see him.

"A new day guys, rise and shine!" Trisha yelled as she flung the curtains of their room open and took Ed's blanket from him, deprived of the comfortable heat, he sat up.

"I'm up already, so shut up about it! Why are you this energetic this early? It's only- 6 in the morning!" Ed spluttered as he glanced at the clock. Trisha threw a shirt at him and told him she'd meet him and his brother in the main entrance.

She had been ready for almost an hour, she had never really been a morning person but she couldn't stay asleep so I just went ahead and got up. She was anxious, nervous and vaguely frightened of what could be waiting for them around the corner. What could she do for the poor girl, Nina, who's situation had left her a sobbing pile of nerd every time she watched it. Often she'd just skip the episode altogether to avoid the tears.

That poor girl. Trisha couldn't even begin to imagine the horrific feeling and the pain that comes with being transmuted with another organism, and to live? Awful. If she had to choose between dying during the process or living as an abomination that exists in pain. The thought was terrifying.

Just then she heard the familiar clunking of Al's armor and turned to greet them.

"Hey, finally up and at 'em I see." She punched Ed's arm and walked ahead before continuing, "We don't have time to eat here so we'll eat at Central, we need to get to Roy. Um, because frankly, I have no idea where the hell I'm going. And I don't wanna show up out of the blue and freak Tucker out." She continued walking and clutched her jacket tighter to her body, was it just her or was it freaking freezing out here?

"Yeah yeah, I get it. But why so early? There's no guarantee that the stupid Colonel's even there this early!" Ed said as he looked to his brother. Al just shrugged.

"Well, it's always worth a shot, right Brother?" Al turned to Ed.

"So you've taken her side! I see how it is!" Ed said as he defiantly crossed his arms, his brow furrowing.

"Now Ed, don't be like it. It's not Al's fault. Nobody can resist my womanly charms, your Brother is no exception! Isn't that right, _Alphonse_?" She did a little hair flip and put her hand on her hip. Smiling as Al made spluttering type noises and Ed just blushed.

"What womanly charms? If I didn't know you better I would swear you're a guy!" Ed pointed at her, trying to cover his blush. If armor could blush, Al would be beet red.

"Aw, why you gotta be like that? Al! Your brother's so mean!" She clutched Al's arm and made a pouty face.

"Don't put me in the middle of this, you two finish what you started, preferably somewhere away from things you could damage." Al sighed and looked ahead, the Command Center was barely in view.

"We should hurry, I'm starving!" Trisha said as she dropped the topic and jogged ahead, walking ahead to quicken their pace.

"Well, that was great! Okay, so we've got his location, should we head out?" Trisha spoke as she stretched her arms above her. She sighed as she turned to Al.

"Yeah, if we move quickly we can get there before too late." Al spoke, standing up and walking to the gate. Edward showed the guards his pocketwatch and they let us leave.

As soon as we exited the building we saw a small black car pull up, the driver opened the passenger door.

A rich female voice muttered "Get in."

"Shotgun!" She yelled as she clambered into the passenger seat, she looked over to see none other than _the_ Riza Hawkeye next to her.

"The Colonel ordered me to make sure you got to Shou Tucker's house safely." She stated simply as she waited for the boys to get settled in the back, it was a squeeze with Alphonse's size.

"Now why did the good Colonel do that?" Ed asked, sarcastically placing 'good' in front of Colonel.

"Now Ed." Al admonished.

"Whether you guys realize it or not, and don't tell the Colonel I said anything, but, he cares about you. He wants you to succeed so that's why he's been doing everything within his power to help you boys." She said quietly as she turned the key and slowly pulled away from the gate, into the quiet street. Edward didn't respond.

A short, quiet ride later, they pulled up to a building that didn't resemble a house, but it looked more like a school; a university even.

It was massive, it looked big in the anime, but this was ridiculous! Four tall pillars, attached by the outer walls of the estate. It's size was, just, astounding. How could anybody live in such a large house?

Riza got out of the car and walked up to the main door, she knocked and stated her rank.

"Lt. Colonel Riza Hawkeye here as escort of Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, and his two companions." She backed up and waited, we heard small footsteps pit-pattering toward the door and saw the door open. There was nobody there though, that was odd. They all heard a high pitched giggle and looked down, they saw a small girl with big round green eyes looking up at them. A moment later they saw a man who looked to be in his mid to late thirties, maybe early forties. He looked so tired, but her thoughts were interrupted when a giant white dog jumped and completely crushed Ed.

"Damn it dog, get offa me!" Ed yelled as he struggled underneath the canine currently on top of him.

"Alexander, be nice to our guests. Sorry for that, come on in." He opened the door wider and welcomed us inside.

"I apologize for the mess, I know my place lacks womanly charm, wait that was sexist wasn't it? Well, make yourself at home. I'll go make us some tea." Tucker showed them to a kitchen table, after they got settled down Trisha felt a small tug on her jacket.

"What's your name? Mine's Nina!" The little girl said happily.

"My name's Trisha, nice to meet you Nina; that's a very nice name." She smiled sweetly at the small girl.

"Trisha, you will be my big sister right?" She asked innocently.

"Sure, but only if Ed and Al can be your big brothers." She pointed to Edward and Alphonse as she spoke their names.

"Okay, big brother Al, and little brother Ed, and Big sister Trishy!" Nina spoke slowly, as to make sure she made sure she said everything right.

Trishy? That was a first for her.

"Oh no, I'm the _big_ brother Nina, _Big_ brother, _little_ brother." Ed said as he reigned in his temper, he gestured between him and his brother, trying to make it clear he was the older sibling.

"Yeah, he may not look it, but Edward's the bigger brother." Trisha said quietly, but loud enough for Ed to catch.

"Hey!" Ed said as he urged Trisha to stop.

"Okay, so little big brother Ed and big little brother Al!" She said, excited she had figured it out.

"Y-yeah, I guess that works." He finally said quietly, slumping slightly in his chair.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting, here's the tea. I see you've already met my daughter Nina. I apologize again for the mix matched cups, we don't have guests often." He spoke softly, throwing a crooked smile to the three travelers before taking a seat across from them.

"Nina, could you do daddy a favor and play with Alexander? He looks lonely." Tucker looked at Nina and gave her that, awkward, crooked smile. She nodded and called Alexander before taking him into the courtyard.

"Okay, now, I take it you're interested in the Chimera I created a few years back, two I think. Well, I'm sure you know about what happened to it. So why have you come here?" Tucker asked as he braced his elbows against the table, then rested his head in his hands.

"Well, we were interested in the strides you've taken in the field of biological alchemy. We'd like to look into some of your research, if you'd be so kind." Trisha said, speaking cautiously.

"Well, I'd be happy to. I'll show you my skeletons if you show me yours. It's only fair. It's the code we alchemists live by, equivalent exchange. Isn't that right, Edward? Now, why are you interested in Bio-Alchemy?"

"Oh, well, Ed you see, he's," Riza tried to answer, but Ed interjected.

"Lt. Hawkeye." She understood and sat back, allowing Ed to speak for himself. He looked to Trisha, his eyes spoke to hers, she understood.

Show him your automail.

He took off his glove and she started to roll up her sleeve, Ed took off his jacket. They looked away from the older alchemist's gaze. Not wanting to face his expression. Then, they both stood up, and they rolled their respective pant leg up, revealing the metallic limbs underneath.

"Me and Al here," he knocked on Al's armor. "Tried to bring our mom back, through human transmutation. I was 11 and Al was 10. Trisha here,"

"I made a choice, and paid the appropriate price. That price happened to be two of my limbs." Trisha threw in, not mentioning the other that was taken.

"You transmuted your mother? As an eleven year old child? So that's what earned you the title, The Fullmetal Alchemist, huh? You've had a rough time of it for someone so young. I can't say whether it'll be of help or not, but you can feel free to take a look at my laboratory." He stood up and motioned for them to come along. Riza walked behind the rest of them, alert and cautious.

'As usual, never has her guard down,' Trisha thought.

"Here we are." Tucker spoke in a low tone. He pushed the door open, what lay behind those doors; Trisha wasn't ready for it.

It was awful. The severed heads that lined the shelves, rows upon rows of organisms, some alive, some not. This was _awful_. The smell, it smelled of vinegar and dust. Separate, they were fine. Together, they took on a scent reminiscent of death; she swore there was a faint scent of blood in the room. She'd let it go for now. She had to focus on her mission.

"Wow, so this is what the laboratory of a Bio-Alchemist looks like? Amazing!" Alphonse exclaimed. Thoroughly interested in what lay before him.

The boys were lost in a wonderland of biological anomalies and

Tucker offered for them to stay with them, Edward accepted, jumping at the opportunity.

That night, Nina slept by Al's side.

A week had passed since their arrival at the Tucker residence. Nina was practically glued to Al and Trisha. She had taken to the notion of calling Trisha "Momma". That was hard to adapt to, but after a while she got used to it.

Still no lead on the homunculi.

The day had come, the day before the recertification. Tucker's sanity was visually slipping through his fingers as he frantically searched for a way to secure his position.

Although Trisha didn't know it, Tucker had decided.

Trisha said goodnight to the boys and Nina and made her way to her room. She was sure that if Tucker made his move, Ed would wake up and stop him. She was confident, she didn't want to lose another person close to her.

If she had paid closer attention, she would have realized the figure waiting outside of her room. She would have noticed the hand outstretched towards her face before it was too late. But she didn't.

The next thing she knew she was on the floor. She opened her eyes.

She was in a lab, almost exactly like the one they'd entered before, but different. Oh my truth, every wall, every available surface had some sort of circle. Some had symbols she recognized, most didn't. The subjects in this lab looked more vicious, more man-made than natural. The ones that were alive looked like they were in _so much pain._

She was on her side on the hard floor, she looked down and saw that she was on a transmutation circle, it didn't take her long to gather all of the pieces.

**He was going to turn her into a chimera.**

No. she didn't want this! She noticed she was securely tied up. She spotted Tucker, he looked to be absorbed in whatever he was working on. She took this opportunity to free herself. She was bound with a rope that ran around her abdomen and pinned her arms together behind her back. She wiggled her arms and loosened the ropes enough to free her fingers.

She clapped her hands softly and transmuted one of her automail fingers, thanking the heavens it was only steel and iron, into a small blade. She watched Tucker as the transmutation sparks died down, making sure she had gone undetected before continuing. She worked her finger against the rope, after a few seconds she felt a tug and the rope loosened slightly. She continued until the last few strands were loosened. She sat up very slowly and slipped them over her head. She took off her shoes to reduce the amount of sound she made and, again, was thankful she had work cotton socks.

She quietly stood up, taking the moment to take a look around her. She turned around and saw Alexander. The poor creature was splayed out, most likely drugged, and had a muzzle; rope was binding his legs. Poor mut. 'I'll help you, I promise' she thought.

She turned back to see Tucker, standing in front of her.

He came at her, but he couldn't win now. This was something she was comfortable with, this was her field. He knew that.

She ducked and transmuted her automail into a blade, resembling Ed's but not the same. She lashed out, hoping to restrict his movement, not seriously injure him. As she left a cut on his left side, she stood up. Almost immediately she heard a loud boom, it took a moment for her brain to play catch up.

The debris flying.

The feeling of hitting the floor.

Seeing the man standing in the place where the wall should have been.

Seeing the blood as it danced through the air.

Scar.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: CLIFFHANGER! Ha! Please, review, follow, and favorite! I hope you guys liked this chapter, I worked really hard on it. I should have the next chapter out by next Friday or Saturday. Now when I say BY, I mean anytime between now, and, 11:59 this coming Saturday. I still won't give up the mysterious"I have to kill Maes Hughes" line. You'll have to read more to find out! What will come of Nina? Why is Scar there? Blood!? So many questions...**

**I really hope you guys review more after this chapter is uploaded. I want to hear what you guys think. I want to hear your questions. I want to hear what you guys want, your suggestions. **

**Please, give me feedback! Anything you didn't like about this? Review! If you don't want to review then please, feel free to Personal Message me! I always get back to you. **

**Hughes: I don't wanna die, then my poor girl Elicia would be sad! **

**Roy: *Drags Hughes away* Nobody cares Hughes.**

**Trisha: Geez. Tough Crowd.**

**Hughes: You're telling me.**

**Roy: How are you even here?**

**Edward: Why does everybody always make fun of my height?**

**Me: So nobody seems out of character, sorry dude.**

**Edward: Being in character sucks.**

**Tucker: Why am I such a bad guy?**

**Everybody: *Shifts away from Tucker***

**Tucker: *Crazy intensifies***

**Nina: I like Trishy being my Momma and Ally being Daddy. **

**Alphonse: *Random spluttering noises***

**Winry: Ally sounds like a girl's name...**

**Edward: Al's not allowed to like girls yet, so he's nobody's 'Daddy'.**

**Nina: *Cries***

**Everybody: *Shifts away from Edward***

**Me: Okay, that's enough guys. These people are probably bored of this 'Character Dialogue' thing. **

**Winry: Please, review review review!**

**Trisha: Follow and Favorite too! (This chapter is over 4200 words!)**


	9. Chapter 9: Continuance

**Chapter 9: Chapter 9: Continuance**

**A/N: I hope I'll be able to get this to you guys! Not a terribly long author's note, but without further adieu, enjoy!**

Chapter 9: Continuance

_Almost immediately she heard a loud boom, it took a moment for her brain to play catch up._

_The debris flying._

_The feeling of hitting the floor._

_Seeing the man standing in the place where the wall should have been. _

_Seeing the blood as it danced through the air._

_Scar._

* * *

><p>Scar flew forward, aiming for her head. She ducked down and made a run for it. She looked back to see Scar's hand approach Tucker's face. Instead of grabbing his face, his hand went to Tucker's neck. He held Tucker by the throat and raised him up.<p>

"I will allow you to pray to your God before I send you to him." Scar said grimly, "Any last words should be spoken now."

Trisha struggled to stay conscious, when Scar had barged in she must have been injured, she couldn't identify where though. All she knew was that there was _so much_ blood, enough to coat her hand, the copper scent filling her nostrils.

"I am an alchemist, I do not follow the laws that our society has laid out, I seek the unknown. I am an alchemist, I seek perfection. I have spent my entire career persuing the abnormal, making strides in my field and searching for the one discovery that would really get me noticed. I've found it," He raised one of his arms weakly, throwing out that awkward crooked smile of his, "her." He finished as his finger settled on me.

"She is a scientific abnormaility, she isn't from this world." He added, his smile growing and his eyes taking on a feril wildness. "She is the one thing I've been looking for, for all this time! I won't let this chance escape me!" He made a move to escape his grasp, Scar wouldn't allow it. He simply shoved him against one of the shelves.

"What?" She questioned. She was barely able to utter that single word, something was very wrong. _But injury aside, how does he know about her being from another world? _

_Why was it so hard to breathe? Shouldn't she be healing?_

"I first noticed it when you reacted to things, like when you looked at me with those eyes. Yes, you happen to be sporting those particular eyes right now. You looked at me with those orbs full of fire and protected Nina. I knew there was no way my plan would work. But then I thought about it, how did you know? I'm so very particular about my plans. You knew what I was going to do, you appear to be from another time, at the very least another world. With those facts aside, your body seems to posses superhuman healing abilities. In addition to that, your body is extremely easy to transmute, which it shouldn't be." He finished, pleased with his deductions.

_What? What did he mean that I was easy to transmute? _

She was confused and struggling to stay conscious. _Where were the boys? _

Scar looked at her, "If what this alchemist says is true, then you are an abomination. I will send you back to God." He threw Tucker against the wall as he made his way over to Trisha. He bent down, she saw his hand in slow motion, why couldn't she move.

_Move!_

_Move, damn it!_

_You can't die, not here, not now!_

_MOVE! _

No matter how hard she tried, her body wouldn't listen. She closed her eyes, praying that somebody would save her. She felt tears slip out, traveling down her cheeks.

She opened her eyes to see his hand inches from her head.

She accepted her fate, closing her eyes, for the final time.

She saw sparks from behind her eyelids.

What's happening?

* * *

><p><strong>AN: This is not a full chapter but I want to have a cliffhanger so this chapter will be uploaded in two parts. How'd you like part one? Sorry if this is a disappointment but you'll get the next part soon, so cheer up!**

**Is Trisha going to die? Where's Ed? What about Hughes? **

**You will find out next time!**

**Thanks for reading, hope you liked it. **

**Part Two will be coming out soon, I'll surprise you!**

**Hint: Next few days**

**Okay, please review! Suggestions? Questions? Comments? **

**You can also PM me! Tune in next time to see what will happen to our beloved characters! **


	10. Chapter 9: Part Two

**Chapter 10: Chapter 9: Part Two**

Chapter 9: Part Two of 'Continuance'

_She opened her eyes to see his hand inches from her head._

_She accepted her fate, closing her eyes, for the final time._

_She saw sparks from behind her eyelids._

_What's happening?_

* * *

><p>"Don't you dare touch her!" She heard a voice call out.<p>

She found enough energy to open her eyes and see Scar retract his hand and back up.

She saw Alphonse as he propelled his armor forward.

"Trisha, you okay?" She heard a voice, resembling Edward's, ask.

She harnessed enough energy to look, wondering how she was still alive. She was running on empty.

"On no! Oh no, oh no, oh no! No! Trisha!" She knew she was injured but by the way Edward was reacting. Something was so very wrong.

"Al!" He shouted to his brother, eyes wide in panic, falling into a haze of distress.

He stood up and, with the quickest fluidity Trisha had ever seen from the young alchemist, strapped Scar down. Making sure to secure his arm in a position where his alchemy couldn''t take place.

Tucker was an unconsious heap next to Alexander, who had miraculously stayed asleep throughout the ordeal.

Al turned, seeing Trisha's state.

The extent of her injuries were finally taken in. It only took a second to actually understand.

_She was __**dying.**_

She had a pipe, due to the extensive plumbing the Tucker residence held within it's walls, plunged through her chest.

She most likely had a collapsed lung, and for some reason her body wasn't healing itself like usual.

"Trisha!" Alphonse screamed, the metallic ring bouncing around her inner ear and making her wince. Alphonse ran to her, hovering over her like she was a wounded bird. "Al, what do we do? She's dying!" Edward said urgently, that's when she took into account the color of Edward's attire.

Usually, she wouldn't have thought anything out of place when she saw Edward covered in red, it was the color of his trademark coat. But no, this was different, he wasn't wearing his long red coat with the black flamel on the black. The particular shade of red he was clad in at that moment was deeper; crimson.

He wasn't wearing a cotton coat, he was wearing her blood.

"Don't you heal unusually fast? Why isn't it working? You shouldn't be bleeding this much!" Edward stated as he eyed the pipe, eyes looking as if they were ready to leap from his sockets.

"I, don't, know." She said, barely holding back tears. The pain was almost unbearable, it was increasingly hard to breathe, and each word felt as if someone were twisting daggers in her chest.

"We have to move her, get her to a hospital!" Edward said, finally making decisions. Alphonse looked to him, armor body trembling,

"Ed, please don't let the world take Trisha away too!" He begged, the disembodied voice inside sounded as though he was begging, bawling his eyes out. _I bet his body at the gate is crying, oh Al. I can't die ye-_her thoughts were interrupted when a searing pain etched it's way into her nerves causing her to cry out and convulse. Silent tears streaming down her cheeks.

"No, she's bleeding even more now!" _Something was __**wrong.**_

"So God is placing the alchemists in my path, first the Sewing Life Alchemist and now the Fullmetal Alchemist!" Scar yelled from where he was pinned. "Oh just shut up, you murderer! Look at her, she isn't a state alchemist, she's a girl. She's innocent. She's a good person who is kind, honest and giving! Look at her, she's, she's beautiful! And she's dying!" Alphonse screamed at the ishvalan. Heavy desperation clear and thick in his metallic voice.

Edward's eyes started to water, he roughly wiped the beginnings of his tears away before anybody could notice.

"Edward, Alphonse! What's going on here!" Riza said as she entered through the gaping hole in the wall, gun in hand, eyes racking over the scene in front of her. A badly wounded civilian, an unconscious state alchemist, and two disoriented and unstable teenage boys, and the wanted serial killer. To say the least, Riza was surprised.

"Lieutenant, what's wrong?" They heard the Colonel shout, standing stock still as he finally entered the space, taking into account the situation.

His demeanor immediately changed he went from a regular military office man with rank, to a military commander, with rank of course. His features becoming hard and serious.

"Major, what's happening? Report." He turned to Edward and barked the order, because frankly he thought he might snap if he didn't put the situation into a militaristic perspective, make it professional, detach himself.

Edward turned to him, glaring daggers at the male, that if looks could kill, the Colonel would be six feet under. Anger melted from his gaze, turning into understanding.

"This civilian, Trisha Alrec is wounded. Myself and my companion have l have apprehended the man known as 'Scar' and The Sewing Life Alchemist is unconcious, injuries unknown. At the moment sir, that's all that's known." Edward said, spitting out the words 'this' and 'civilian' as if they burned.

Alphonse looked down pitifully.

"Edward." Alphonse spoke.

Alphonse never called Ed 'Edward' he almost called him 'Ed' or 'Brother', this was serious.

Trisha had been unconscious from the time Mustang entered.

"Yeah Al? What is it?" Edward said weakly, praying to whatever God could possibly exist, not that he really believed in one, that he wasn't about to say what Ed was fearing the most.

"Ed, Trisha's not breathing." With that, Alphonse moved faster than anybody though physically possible.

He was in front of Scar, transmuting something. As he clapped and placed his hands on the circle he'd scraped into the ground, spikes grew, stopping mere centimeters from the white haired man's face.

"What did you do to her? Fix her! Bring her back! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!" Alphonse screamed in a fit of raw anger and sadness.

Riza was the first to react. She ran and pushed Alphonse aside, breaking the stone formations with the back of her gun, she turned, deciding to take action.

"Colonel, I need you to get Hughes, he came with us, correct?" Riza turned to him, speaking quickly but clearly. "Y-yeah, hey Hughes! Get in here, now damn it!" He practically screamed out the opening in the lab's wall.

"What is it Roy? I'm not fighting anybody if that's what you're asking." His voice dropped to a barely audible whisper. He took in Trisha's body.

"Hughes, get the boys out of here, now. Make sure no one comes in that opening." Riza said as she swept down next to the girl, urging the Colonel to follow suit.

"Boys, come on! We gotta move!" Hughes said as he pulled Edward away, as soon as the blonde teen was on his feet he went limp.

Alphonse didn't budge.

"Al, come on." Ed said as he put on that crooked smile, the one that made Alphonse cringe internally, that one his brother forced himself to wear.

"No, I'm staying." Alphonse said as he moved next to Trisha, clenching his large hands into tight fists.

"But Al." Edward started, "No." Alphonse interrupted.

"Leave him Edward, we don't have time." The Lieutenant snapped, looking at her superior.

Hughes slung Ed's arm over his shoulders and exited the small, copper scented place.

"Colonel, we need to stop the bleeding, and from what I can tell, this girl has an injury to the lung. A collapse maybe? We need to get her breathing again." She spoke with confidence as she looked around for a tube like structure.

Lucky for her, she was in a laboratory. She found a variation of a baster, it looked as though he didn't have any alcohol on hand, or none that she could find. She found a scalpel, or actually, a whole drawer full of them and different variations. That was unnerving but he is a scientist.

"I need you to get your gloves ready. Now, aim your flame at the very tip of this scalpel, we need to sterilize it. Now this baster, thing." She disregarded her use of amateur vocabulary, focusing on saving the teen's life.

He did as instructed, knowing that when Hawkeye got like this, it was best if he just stayed silent.

"Now I'm going to pull this pipe out, you're going to sear this wound closed as quickly as humanly possible." She spoke with conviction, confident the plan in her mind would work. The medical training all soldiers had been required to partake in in the ishvalan conflicts, had done her a great deal of good.

"Wait, what?" He said alarmed.

"Yeah, Lt. Hawkeye, are you sure that's okay?" Alphonse finally spoke.

Everybody was shocked when the innocent Alphonse had flown off the handle, talking about killing, but now he seemed more scared than angry.

"I know what I'm doing." She said, voice not revealing her thoughts. Focus unmoving. _I hope this works, we can __**only **__hope._

"On 3, okay?" She looked to the man in front of her. He nodded.

"One." She took in a breath.

"Two." She held that breath.

"Three." She let the breath out and gave a firm pull, the pipe sliding out, the sickly smell of blood once again becoming dominant around them.

Immediately, Mustang reacted. Snapping his fingers and using pinpoint aiming to sear the flesh surrounding her wound, quickly sealing the opening. A loud scream was let out from Trisha, signaling the life her body still possessed within itself.

"Trisha! I thought she was dead!" Alphonse said in utter disbelief.

"She hadn't stopped breathing but her breathing is dangerously unstable. She looks as though her collapsed lung is causing her to go through phases of breathing and not. So that shock we just sent through her," she grimaced at the thought of how painful that must have been, hopeful she didn't remember this ordeal, "as to possibly rouse her from unconsciousness." She finished.

"Alphonse, I strongly suggest you not look at this next part." Colonel said, glancing at the sharp tool in his Lieutenant's hand.

"I'm fine, I've seen worse." The boy stated simply.

"Okay then, your choice. Don't say we didn't warn you." He held Trisha flat, in case she reacted to the pain again, if she moved this time it might kill her.

She made the incision between her fifth and sixth ribs and made a deep incision, Alphonse watched as blood pooled, the shirt she was wearing long gone being ripped away before they started.

She then took the baster and inserted it into the opening she created. Gently pushing, she felt some resistance, signaling she had found the air pocket pushing against the lung. She started quickly sucking the air pocket out, catching some liquid in the process.

She quickly but carefully took it out and the Colonel used a small flame to partly seal the cut and stop the bleeding.

"She won't be very comfortable when she wakes up, but she will be waking up." The older woman stated as she got to her feet. She went over to one of the bookshelves and tipped it over, dropping it's contents to the floor with a collection of loud thuds.

She then kicked it, grabbing one of the individual shelves from it.

She brought the board over and placed it directly next to Trisha. She then signaled to Roy to help her lift her.

They wordlessly lifted her limp body on the board, her feet hanging off the edge, and slowly stood up.

"Uhh.." Was heard from a pained Trisha.

"It's okay, we're here to help. Relax, we've got it covered." Hawkeye spoke softly as she started to walk forward.

"Mom?" Trisha let out, sounding strained, coughing following. Her eyes hadn't opened.

Alphonse let out a small gasp and the Colonel just stayed silent.

A small, almost invisible smile made its way to Riza's lips. She stilled slightly then relaxed before muttering,

"Yes, Trisha."

She then began to move forward once again.

Nobody talked about it afterwards. But, they saw a thin line of silent tears make their way down the girl's cheeks.

"Mom." Trisha let out, before once again allowing herself be consumed by the darkness.

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><p><strong>AN: Sorry, but I don't really have the energy to make a long author's note. I really hope you guys start reviewing. The more reviews I get the earlier I update. Also, just wanted to let you guys know that I'm going to rewrite this fanfic after it's completed. I won't change anything plot-wise I just want to clean it up and make it sound like it wasn't written by a drunk eight year old.**

**So please, review. Let me know if you'd even read the rewrite. :)**

**Thanks! Hope you liked it. I know I'm awful! XP**


	11. Chapter 11

**Opening the Gate Chapter 10**

_A small, almost invisible smile made its way to Riza's lips. She stilled slightly then relaxed before muttering,_

_"Yes, Trisha."_

_She then began to move forward once again._

_Nobody talked about it afterwards. But, they saw a thin line of silent tears make their way down the girl's cheeks._

_"Mom." Trisha let out, before once again allowing herself be consumed by the darkness._

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><p>Trisha woke in a small hospital room, she inspected the place. It wasn't very big, her bed was in the center of the room and a small table was on her left side, a vase with some very pretty lilies was sat carefully on it. She looked closer and saw some transmutation marks at the bottom. She smiled softly and gingerly reached her hand up to one of the flowers. It was beautiful, and they smelled wonderful. From the feeling she had, bandages were probably wrapped around her torso, there was a IV stuck in her hand, and her arm, she couldn't really move her right arm and leg (or her left leg), her automail seemed unaffected though; so that was good. As she raised her automail hand up she realized there was someone else there with her.<p>

"Trisha?" A weak, small sounding voice sounded from her right side. The side she hadn't really been focusing on.

"Alphonse? Is that you?" She asked, her voice sounded like sandpaper felt. "My voice," she cringed, then coughed trying to wake her vocal chords up.

"Trisha!" Alphonse had been sitting in a wooden chair by her bed, he jumped up.

"Alphonse." She said sleepily, "I feel like I've been sleeping for forever yet Im still tired, why is that?" Al was leaning over her as he struggled to hear what she was saying. She raised her hand to his face, or rather, the armor helmet. "What happened? How long have I been out of it?" She said weakly, it was taking everything she had just to speak, her automail started to drop, she was losing all feeling.

Before her hand could drop, Alphonse's own hand met it and held it in place. "You've been asleep for a very long time, I'm sorry but all we know is that Tucker and you were doing something and Scar got caught up in it and then you got hurt." He stopped there, not wanting to bring back those horrible memories. "How do you feel? Can I get anything for you?" He questioned as he rested her hand down next to her, sitting back down, his hand still holding hers by her side.

"Water maybe, thank you so much-." She was cut off with a rough cough which quickly escalated into a fit. She tried to sit up but when she did she threw herself back onto the bed and winced, her ribs screaming at her to stop. "Wait, where's Tucker? Where's that bastard?" She asked, some of the pain redirected to anger at what he'd wanted to do to her. That sick freak would pay.

"Huh? What are you talking about? Tucker's with Nina and they're both fine so there's nothing to worry about." Alphonse finished confusedly.

"What? Why would I worry about Tucker‽" She tried to shout, but her breath seemed more limited than usual.

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

"Get me the Colonel, and while you're at it, get Edward." She tried to command, but it came out just above a whisper.

"Why? What's going on?" Alphonse was getting nervous.

"Now!" At that moment Riza came in.

"Hey I heard something in here, is everything…" She trailed off as she looked to Trisha. "She's awake! Get the Fullmetal Alchemist and her nurse!" She moved quickly, barking the orders out the door as she slipped inside and bent by Trisha's bedside.

"Lt, Hawkeye? Is that you?" She asked meekly, she had closed her eyes, the pain in her ribs causing her to keep her eyes shut and making her automail hand grip the sheets.

"Yes, it's me."

"Is the Colonel with you?" She asked.

"No, he isn't he's next door at headquarters."

Alphonse was still there, he looked at her pained expression and spoke for her.

"You need to go get the Colonel immediately, apparently it's really important, she almost tried to get up herself." Riza gave him a look filled with pity. He simply sat down next to her, taking her hand in his own once more. Her golden hair was splayed out across her pillow but Alphonse thought she looked flawless, even as she laid there in the hospital gown that couldn't even compliment a trashcan, even as she sweat and even as her brow furrowed he still thought that she looked beautiful.

While Al had gotten lost in his own thoughts, Riza had left. He looked to the dingy looking clock above the doorway he'd been lost in thought for a whole five minutes. He heard the door open and looked up to see the nurse enter with a very tired looking Edward in tow. Alphonse withdrew his hand and scooted the chair a little farther away, allowing room so that the nurse could do anything she needed.

"Edward, you there?" Trisha asked in a barely audible whisper.

"Trisha? Yeah it's me, I'm here." He said as he rushed to her side, he had assumed the worse when the nurse had hurried in and told him he was needed in Trisha's room immediately.

She needed to heal. She had no idea what was going on, but it was all about to stop. Edward's presence along with the others in the room as she thought about the best way to go about it faded away. Her own body felt almost foreign now, stagnant, like when you leave a glass of water overnight and drink it the next day and it tastes of dust; like she was trespassing. It was a most disturbing sensation, that no one category, phrase or word could contain. She pulled away from the awkward feeling and redirected her attention.

She had an idea, if she could just pay special attention to the vital wounds and heal them then she could go after Tucker herself. She dedicated her focus to all her previous experiences with her ability to heal, calling upon every single shred of energy she had left to heal her. She focused on the vague warmth of Ed's hand holding hers, she focused on the thermal energy being transferred between them and added that energy to her own. As soon as she started to feel something a sharp pain ran through her head. She opened her eyes and looked at her body, nothing had changed.

Fine, if she couldn't do anything then she'd go straight to the source to find out what was happening.

She closed her eyes again, and tried to go to the Truth, she tried so hard to get to the gate but that same pain filled her head again. She got as far as the dark arms, she saw the doors open and she saw Truth on the other side but then the doors slammed shut and she was thrown back into the real world. Edward had been murmuring something to the nurse, not paying any special mind to the girl below him.

"Damn it! Why now, why now of all the times!" She yelled in frustration, tears of frustration coming to her eyes as she violently tugged her hand away from Ed and put it over her face.

To say the least, they were all surprised by her sudden outburst. They had no idea of the reality of the situation or the truth behind her ability. All they knew was that just moments before she'd been quietly lying on the bed with her eyes closed and now she was saying things out of, what seemed like, nowhere and getting upset.

"What? What's wrong, what's happening?" Alphonse asked, concerned.

'_What's wrong? Why wasn't it working?'_

After a moment of silence, they heard the door open. They saw two officers come in, one wore the expression of a worried parent while the other looked at the scene in front of them and chose to put up a professional front.

While Riza Hawkeye stepped back, Roy Mustang stepped forward.

"Now tell me, Fullmetal, just what in the hell is going on here."

Before a proper response could be given to him Trisha finally spoke.

"I wanted you here. Tucker? Yeah he's not so innocent, he's the reason I'm in this damn bed right now. He's the one who did this to me, but once my ribs heal up and I get a little rest I'll get out of here and get him myself." She took a break from speaking, trying to gather some vitality to finish what she wanted to say. Roy took this moment to speak for himself.

"Fullmetal, don't tell me she doesn't know." Roy looked over, a dejected look on his face.

"I-I haven't had the chance. She only just woke up." Ed looked down at his lap, wearing a defeated expression as he sat down on a small chair that had previously been folded up next the bed.

"Tell me what? What haven't you told me?" She asked as she worriedly looked to Ed.

He avoided her gaze. She looked to Alphonse who also looked away. She looked back to Ed, fear now replacing worry. Ed looked up, emotion, pain -wait no- fear was etched into his expression, wait no, it was sadness. Or maybe a combination of all of those.

"Ed..ward?" She asked as she sat up, wincing through the pain and sitting up fully. Backing up slowly on the bed until her back was against the headboard. Her body felt heavier than usual. She looked down at her legs then back up to Ed.

'_No!' _The fact suddenly struck her.

She didn't want to believe what she knew was the truth. She grabbed his collar with her hand and pulled him close, "Tell me, tell me damn it! _Please!_ What is it?" She screamed as tears started to stream down her face. Her lungs pressing in on themselves,

"Trisha…" Alphonse started.

"What?" She cried back at him, fear growing. She already knew what they didn't want to say but she didn't want to believe it.

"After the accident with Tucker, your spinal cord was severely injured." Said the blonde man she was holding.

"No!"

"The doctor's tried everything they could."

"No!" She screamed again, Riza looked away as Alphonse's armor rattled, shaking. Roy looked at the floor.

"I'm sorry." Ed whispered.

"No! No, no, no, no!" She screamed as she let go of him and slumped down, hysterical. Ed held her close as she slammed her fist into his chest.

**Trisha Alrec couldn't feel her legs.**

"But you've been paralyzed from the waist down, you can't walk anymore, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault." Ed said as tears streamed down his face. His grip tightened on Trisha.

"No!" She screamed into him, slamming her fists into his chest repeatedly. She finally sat back up, instead of fear, sadness or pain; there was only anger.

"No! I won't let you reject me! Truth, heal me damn it!" She screamed at herself, she slammed her fists into her legs repeatedly begging truth over and over again to heal her. She then realized her flesh leg couldn't feel a thing, it was real, she was paralyzed, there was no healing or fixing no transmuting or anything to bring back her ability to walk. She felt all hope slipping away, pure rage replaced any and all other emotions. Her tears stopped.

"Fuck it! If Truth won't answer, I'll just do it myself!" It was a demand, a command to alchemy, to Truth, to God, to the universe. She closed her eyes and focused everything she had on her legs, on Truth and on her sheer will power. She remembered that she was in a hospital. Voltage. Now she had something to really work with.

She had an idea. In theory it could work, but she wasn't sure if it'd work in practice. She recalled Roy's flame alchemy circle but modified it in her mind. Replacing the element of fire with _electricity_ specific symbols she'd learned from Truth. She clapped her hands and held them up to the ceiling.

All they could do was watch. She focused, blocking out everything but the slight buzz in the air, the static, the power that ran through the place. She sensed the energy all around her, the generator down the hall, and the lamp in her room, and the car batteries in the cars driving past the hospital. She brought her hands forward, she felt a pull. She tried again, she saw a spark leap in front of her from behind her eyelids. Somebody in the room let out a small gasp. She made a motion like she was conducting an orchestra, making it go silent; she swiftly brought her hand to a fist.

All sound was gone, no vibrations, nothing. All sound was hers. She decided the light would also be hers. She snapped and all light faded, no light, no sound only the sensation of utter stillness. She felt a large pull, a familiar pull.

She felt a twitch in her legs, it was faint but it was there. "Work!" She said as she closed her eyes even tighter and zoned in on that single shred of hope, although she couldn't hear herself. She shoved everything she had into that one twitch, the one pull she took from every single possible source of strength around her that wasn't alive, desperately hoping it would work. She relaxed her hand, effectively undoing the fist she'd made and restored some energy to the space around them, the lights were dimmer but sound had fully been restored. A look of shock crossed the nurse's face as she brought her hand to her mouth. She saw transmutation sparks from behind her eyelids, when she opened them _she_ was shocked.

Little blue and red transmutation marks hopped and skipped across her legs, making their way up to her torso, she felt a cut on her cheek close as a spark jumped across it. The lights in the room buzzed and dimmed, she felt the generator down the hall falter for a moment. Ever so slowly but surely the sparks died down and she looked to Roy. Silence, none of the alchemists spoke for a moment; looking to each other as if to ask if what they'd witnessed was real. Of course, Al was the first to speak.

"Trisha?" Alphonse spoke, leaning forward.

She looked to her legs, she tried to move her foot, and there was a motion; a small one but movement nonetheless. Riza stepped forward as she saw it.

"Alphonse can you do me a favor?" She asked as she wiped away the remnants her tears. Calming down as she looked to him.

"Y-yeah, what do you need?" He was by her side in a second.

"I need you to help me get out of the bed." Alphonse quickly looked at her, disbelieving what she was implying. "I think it might have actually worked." She said softly, shocked. The Colonel stepped forward, "I'll be the first to say that whatever you just did was truly something, but I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that you've healed your paralysis."

"You have to see to believe right? Isn't that something people say," She threw the thin sheet off of her, "C'mon Al." She waved him over.

"Trisha, I-."

"Alphonse. Please. Trust me." She spoke again. She felt hyper-energized, sparks running through her blood.

"Okay." Edward rushed to his brother's side and helped as he slowly got Trisha and picked her up. "Thanks." Alphonse put her down but didn't let go, he held her steady as she stood half-leaning on him. "It's okay, let go." He did as she said but Ed stayed, resting his hand on her arm. She just kept concentrating on the sparks she kept feeling beneath her skin.

She smiled at him, "Truth owed me or something I guess." She said, mostly to herself. 'Or I just cheated a permanent detriment to my life with a little transmuting.' She thought.

"What?"

She didn't answer and took a step, adjusting to the sensation of walking once more. Power surging through her neurons from the energy that'd been applied to them. Then she took another, followed by another until she turned around and walked back to Alphonse.

"You, can walk?" Alphonse stood still as clear, absolute astonishment filled him. Ed stood just as still as his brother. "A miracle." Remarked the nurse who'd witnessed the bewildering display.

"Not a miracle, just a little science." She gave a cheap imitation of Ed's lopsided smile back to him. She rested her hand on his shoulder, "I _will_ make that twisted fucker pay, now stop looking like this was your fault. It wasn't." She turned away, not letting him put in a retort.

"But, yes Alphonse, I can walk." She said as she placed a hand against his armor. "If only I could get you back as easily." She said, as sadness took hold of her once more.

Alphonse made a motion to hug her but then thought better of it and went back to standing.

"It's okay you know, to hug me, I won't break."

Alphonse kneeled down and hugged her, wishing he could've felt her warmth, smelt her scent and felt her small smile against his chest. Riza had excused herself along with Roy to go to the doctor and Ed now stood there with his mouth hanging open in downright disbelief. He quickly closed his mouth, replacing his amazement with a small smirk. 'She was okay.' He thought.

Roy returned a moment later, his usual casual yet intimidating demeanor back. "You said Tucker was responsible? I'm going to need some further explanation. I see," He took a breath. "That you can walk again, can you use those legs to follow me?" He didn't wait for an answer to his question and walked out of the room, Trisha and the pair of brothers following after him.

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><p><strong>Author's Note: Hey guys it's been a super long time since my last update. But surprise! I rewrote the trash I had published and now it isn't crap! So please go back and look at the changes I made, more things are explained and it's awesome! Thanks for reading the crap I published the first time, thank you so so much! Enjoy, and please review! I wanna hear from you guys!<strong>


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